


Virus of the Computing Variety

by Namesake



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alex doesn't have her mind wiped, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Kara still works for the DEO, Nia and Brainy get to be happy together and there's nothing you can do to stop me, Nia's not fully confident with her powers yet, Sick Character, Sickfic, somewhat canon divergent as I'm not sure when exactly it's set, this story has a lot of plot for something I designed with - like - only snuggling in mind
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-13
Updated: 2019-05-20
Packaged: 2020-01-05 22:15:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 48,890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18375149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Namesake/pseuds/Namesake
Summary: When Brainy is infected with an unknown computer virus, it's a race against the clock to figure out how to shut it down. The problem? Brainy is the only one who can stop it.Of course, when he starts presenting symptoms, it'll take all of the Super Family to help him through it.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> You have no idea how long I've been muddling through this fic, editing and re-editing instead of writing further chapters, then staring into the abyss of a blank computer screen at 3 in the morning searching for insight. 
> 
> Well, here I am, a significant amount of time later, publishing this thing. 
> 
> I'm a sucker for hurt/comfort, especially when it can be used to further analyse certain character relationships, so that's a pretty main focus of this fic. Of course, this is a sickfic, so there will be some reasonably graphic depictions of illness to follow. You have been warned.
> 
> Please note: I have no background in computing/computer knowledge/hacking/caring enough to study any of this for a fanfic. Everything in this story relating to how computer viruses work is based off loose truths from Google and a hefty amount of sci-fi because-I-said-so.
> 
> That being said, please enjoy!

Alex stared intently at the screens displayed before her. Five different video feeds played at once, and none of them showed anything good.

Traffic lights were going berserk a few streets over, local law enforcement had already been despatched to keep accidents at a minimum, but there was already one upturned van and a family of five being treated for minor injuries on the scene. A fire blazed on another feed, a company skyscraper, the entire fourteenth floor had been blown out with flames and smoke. The pit in Alex’s stomach only eased slightly when she saw Supergirl appear on the feed to help the firefighters already evacuating civilians.

A local school’s alarm had gone off and all the children had been evacuated. No injuries reported, but the swell of terrified children outside the school gates was enough to make Alex look away. She desperately sourced another feed. One of the largest banks in the city had lost its power. A few streets over, a coffee shop was closed due to the sprinklers going off without any indication of cause.

Alex sighed through her teeth. She folded her arms. “What am I looking at here?”

“Television screens,” Brainy said, pointing them out individually. “Although, I would assume you’re referring to what’s _on_ them.”

Alex refrained from rolling her eyes. “Yes,” she said. “That’s exactly what I meant.”

“Five locations,” Brainy said, his hand resting against the tablet balanced on his left arm. “All of them completely unrelated to each other. All with sporadic electronic interference.” He pointed from the school feed to the coffee shop. “Both of these buildings suffered a security malfunction that set off fire alarms.” He tapped his tablet, and the feed of the bank was enlarged. “Power and back-up power was lost to the entire building.” The feed of the fire popped up next. “Ironically, the sprinkler system failed here, causing a minor fire to spread to catastrophic proportions before the authorities could be notified.” He glanced towards Alex. “It is fortunate that Supergirl attended that fire as quickly as she did. Without her assistance, there would have been at least six casualties.”

Alex’s arms tightened. “What’s causing all this?” she asked.

“Hard to say,” Brainy said. “I have run a few simulations, and each one brings me back to the same hypothesis.”

“Which is?”

Brainy was quiet for a moment. Barely a beat, but Alex picked up on it. She looked to him unsurely. “What is it?” she asked.

“Uh,” Brainy said. “It appears to be some sort of _computer_ virus.”

Alex frowned. “Any idea on its source?”

“Perhaps.” Brainy closed his eyes briefly, Alex had seen him do it before when he connected with various hardware around him. He glanced up again. “The locations don’t have any connection to one another, the virus seems to be targeting security systems, but none of them were built by the same manufacturer.”

“Can we follow it?” Alex asked.

“Yes,” Brainy said, then frowned. “No. In a manner of speaking, I suppose. There should be a trace of the encryption left inside the security systems that have been targeted, something that might suggest where the virus originates.”

“Can you hack into them?”

“Already doing so,” Brainy said. He withdrew from the hub space, walking briskly to the closest computer. The screens lit up before he touched the keys, a mass of code that Alex could barely follow branched out in a fluid motion. “Security interference would infer to the likelihood of a planned attack, in which case the probability of someone manually setting the virus to link to these locations strengthens by thirty percent.”

Alex tried to follow the code on the screen with little success. “Would the virus have to already be targeted to the system for them to all go off at the same time?”

“Yes,” Brainy said, before raising a finger. “But that’s not what’s happening here. There is a small window of time between each attack, barely a few seconds, but enough to determine that these attacks are being set off one-by-one. Coding is a language, viruses are superficial, but the minds behind them are what determines their true nature. If I can determine the language that the virus uses, it should be that much easier to track it back to its original processor.”

Alex nodded mutely. “Let’s pretend I understood all of that.”

Brainy glanced at her. “I usually do.”

Alex watched Brainy work, her eyes scanning across the code that fled past on the screen. She felt tense just knowing what was going on out in the city. If someone was hacking security systems, nothing was safe. Not even…

The second the thought crossed her mind, the lights in the entire hub went out. A moment later, a low red light glowed in its place.

Alex heard murmurs spread out behind her. Several agents already had their hands to their stun guns, others were ramrod still, waiting for the danger to present itself.

“Oh, that’s not good,” Brainy said lowly.

“Tell me what’s happening,” Alex said.

Brainy leant back, running a hand through his hair. “The virus is trying to attack the DEO’s firewall. The firewall that Winn created, that _I_ upgraded… it shouldn’t be possible for it to have even gotten this far.” He paused, hands spreading out on the keys. “Unless…”

Alex wavered. “Unless…?”

“Unless,” Brainy repeated, more confident this time. His fingers were a blur on the keys as new windows popped up on the screens. Text upon text, walls of words that might as well have been another language for all the sense they made.

Then new text appeared, words that weren’t just nonsensical to Alex, but completely incomprehensible.

The text wasn’t English, it couldn’t have been. No letters in the English language _looked_ like that. In fact, Alex was pretty confident that _no_ language looked like that. None she’d ever seen, at least.

“It’s alien,” she said.

“It appears so,” Brainy said, his eyes scanning the text. The letters seemed to move, new lines overlapping those that already existed in a word, in a sentence, in a whole wall of text and numerals. It was unlike anything Alex had ever seen.

“Do you know what language this is?” Alex asked.

“My knowledge is vast, but not infinite,” Brainy said, still staring intensely at the screen. “I have no idea what this is, what origin it has come from. But it’s trying to break in.”

“Can it?”

Brainy scoffed. “Hah, no. Of course not.” Then he paused. “Actually…”

Alex stared. “Brainy, is it breaking in?”

Brainy was already typing again. There was a fervent look in his eye. “Rest assured, Director Danvers, I can handle this.”

Alex’s arms tightened around herself. She raised her voice so that all the agents on the floor could hear her. “Everyone remain calm, we’re working to get the power back up. I need security detail doubled in the cells until then, any volunteers?”

Alex never thought she’d get used to the rush of power she felt when people actually did what she wanted them to, no questions asked. Four agents agreed to go down to the cells, but Alex elected two more to stand guard at the main doors out of that floor as well. She trusted Brainy to get the job done, but she couldn’t be too careful. If the virus was somehow able to get into the DEO’s firewall, it could access their security codes, codes that were shared with both the government and the Whitehouse. As well as that, if it could get inside, it could open the cells to the alien prisons. Some of their most dangerous adversaries.

Brainy made a sound of disdain, pushing the keyboard to one side. He linked his hands together, bowing his head.

The speed at which the text moved on the screen increased tenfold. The alien scripture barely stood a chance against whatever Brainy was doing from the inside. Alex had no idea what she was looking at, but it was like watching a war rage out on a cybernetic level. It was fascinating.

She would never let anyone know she thought that.

Suddenly, the screen flashed. Electric green followed by a violent splash of red. At the same time, the lights overhead flashed, the low red pulsed once, stabilising to green for just a moment before the lighting went back to its normal fluorescents.

Brainy opened his eyes, blinking experimentally. “Success,” he said, although he didn’t sound as sure as Alex had expected.

“Is it out?” Alex asked.

“It is,” Brainy said, but he was frowning. “It… it appears to have fled. But I’m not sure where.”

Alex already had a hand against her comm. “Supergirl? It’s Alex, come in.”

Kara’s voice channelled through the comm, Alex could hear shouts of people in the distance, the sounds of sirens on the ground.

“Alex, the fire’s out, everyone’s safe. I just heard the alarms at the school shut down, was that you?”

“Brainy,” Alex said. “It’s some kind of computer virus. A tough one at that. If you aren’t needed on the scene, I need you to do a wide-scale scan of the city and make sure nothing else was affected. Report back to me after, alright?”

“On it,” Kara said. “Is it still a threat?”

Alex worried her lip. She glanced to Brainy. “The virus backed out of our system, is there a chance it could still go on to infect other things in the city?”

“I wish I could say no,” Brainy said, looking towards her. “However, I am afraid I have no idea how it will react. It’s smarter than just a code, it seems to be imprinted with something.”

“Is there a way to track it?”

Brainy considered something for a moment. “Maybe. I will look into it.” He glanced back towards the screen, but Alex could clearly see that something was bothering him, like he was waiting for the code to pop back up on his computer.

“What’s wrong?” Alex asked, her voice low.

“It’s just… strange,” Brainy said, gesturing towards the screen. “The virus, whatever it is, it was strong. Incredibly so. I wouldn’t have expected something like that to simply _back down_.”

“Maybe it’s biding its time,” Alex guessed. “Back up the firewall and monitor the security feedback until we have a location on the thing.”

Brainy nodded, blinking a few times as though to clear his head. “Of course.”

 

* * *

 

The city was buzzing with paranoia. Although the alarms had stopped blaring, although the fire had been all but contained, Kara could still pick up on the citizens of National City as their panic rose to a crescendo around her.

At least an alien attack could be seen, a physical foe that could be punched or arrested. But a security risk with no known cause? That was fear mongering at its finest.

Kara did as she’d been directed; she flew across the city, eyes and ears alert for any threats the DEO may not have picked up on. Aside from those five seemingly unconnected locations, Kara could find no further clues as to where this computer virus had come from. Or, for that matter, where it had gone.

Her experience with computer viruses was incredibly limited, but it didn’t take an expert to know that this could become far more dangerous at any given moment. If the virus could infect security systems, it could breach anything. Kara had already made a public appearance at the bank, assuring three local news stations that the security threat had been eliminated for the moment before taking off back into the sky.

People were afraid. Threats to their livelihood were far more terrifying to that of their lives. Money, provisions, work, education, the very building blocks to human existence. There’d been a time – what felt like forever ago, now – when Kara had tried to separate herself from the human experience. She hadn’t seen the point in trying to connect to the world, not when it kept taking from her anyway. But people fought, they fought for their rights, for their happiness. Sometimes, they fought for their own motivation, but whatever it was, they did it for themselves, for their family, for anything they had in their life that they held dear.

This wasn’t just a run of the mill human or alien with a bad attitude. This wasn’t something that the city could watch get beaten on their TV or phone. Kara had no way of dissuading the public’s fear. She would just have to find the source and destroy it.

She wasn’t sure how many sweeps she’d made before circling back to the DEO. If the city had been rife with tension, the main hub was twice as bad. Kara could almost feel it like a physical presence, and she didn’t miss the anxious glares she received from a few busy agents as she entered.

Clearly, the threat wasn’t as ‘dealt with’ as she’d hoped for.

“Alex,” Kara said, spotting her sister conferring with another agent. “There’s no new security threats. The kids are back at school, the bank is opening as normal tomorrow and I was offered free coffees for life from Java Time.” She grinned half-heartedly. “So, hey, at least something good came out of all this.”

Alex, to her credit, offered a half smile in response. She was clearly distracted, shooting off a few orders to the agent she’d been with before sending them on their way. Once the agent was out of ear shot, Alex folded her arms. “You’re positive?” she asked.

Kara blinked. “Yeah? I mean, yeah. Of course I am.” She lowered her voice. “Why? Alex, you look really worried. Did something else happen?”

Alex sighed, rolling her shoulders. “The DEO nearly got hacked.” She raised her hand before Kara could say anything. “Brainy stopped it, but since then… I don’t know. He’s been acting kind of… off, I guess.” She sighed. “Maybe it’s just all of this getting to me. I’m glad you’ve not found any more breaches, of course I am, but the way Brainy was acting… it was like he was expecting something bad to happen.”

Kara gave Alex a once-over. “And what? You’re not?” She chuckled. “Alex, you look like you’re waiting for the world to crumble.”

“I’m not!” Alex gave her an affronted look, which quickly dissolved into more worry. “Okay, fine, maybe I am.”

“Would a coffee help?”

That got Alex to laugh, which made Kara’s smile brighten. She bumped her sister’s shoulder playfully. “See? Everything’ll be okay. We just have to figure out where this virus came from, right? Stop the source, stop the whole thing?”

Alex glanced away. “I guess, but it’s not that easy. It’s alien, and it’s not in our database. There’s no method for tracking something like this. I have Brainy as well as other agents looking into it, but so far we’ve found nothing. Our firewall is backed up, so another breach is less likely. But as for the rest of the city…”

“We’ll find it,” Kara assured her. “If you need me to do another sweep, I can. Maybe I missed something that could help or-”

Alex’s smile was gentle. “It’s fine. We have it handled for now. I’ll let you know if anything changes, okay?”

Kara nodded. “Okay.”

 

* * *

 

Brainy’s eyes scanned the information on his screen for the fifth consecutive time. There were no variances, he hadn’t expected there to be, but he had hoped that the information might make sense this time.

It didn’t.

The virus worked like nothing he’d ever seen, the way it infected systems so precisely, as though it just slipped in and out with no one being the wiser. It was effortless code, a string of information that appeared to shift and learn from its surroundings. Brainy had read into as much of it as he could when pushing it back from the DEO’s security override, but he hadn’t had the time to get a detailed reference. The virus was strong, it was quick, and it had nearly broken in.

Brainy still hadn’t admitted to Alex just how close a call it had really been. There was no use worrying her more than she already was.

At least, that’s what he told himself.

This was impossible. He rubbed at his face, fingers curling in agitation. There was no trace left in any corner of the DEO’s firewall. It was like the virus had never been there at all. That shouldn’t have been possible. If the virus had backed out of the system, there would be proof of that, a trace of the encryption. If it was still lurking somewhere within the system, he would have found it by now.

Brainy had scanned inside and out of the firewall, he’d spent hours looking for anything that might lead to where the virus went. And there was nothing.

It wasn’t possible. The virus must have gone somewhere. He’d been right there with it, he knew just what it was capable of.

But nothing could disappear like it never existed. Certainly nothing this destructive.

Brainy sighed, running a hand through his hair. He’d been focusing so much that it was starting to weigh on him. An incessant pressure was beginning to mount in his head, clouding his judgement, sending a jarring ache through his…

Brainy’s eyes shot open. A headache. He was getting a headache. Except, he didn’t _get_ headaches. He had a hundred rudimentary functions he could output immediately to target an inflammation before it even started.

So, why was he…?

No. No that couldn’t possibly be it.

…Could it?

The virus wasn’t in the system, that was true. And there was no sign it had left the system the way it entered, either. But what if it hadn’t? What if the virus hadn’t fled from the system, hadn’t taken a back door out? What if, instead, it had latched onto another interface? One that had been right there, an easy target considering it would have never thought for a second that the virus could be _that_ clever.

Brainy stood from his chair, staring blankly at the information gathered on the screen.

 _Now_ it all made sense.

And he wished with unparalleled certainty that it didn’t.

 

* * *

 

Alex walked to keep her mind busy. She felt useless, waiting for more information on the possible city-wide outbreak of an alien computer virus like any other civilian out there. She was sure Kara felt the same; she’d sent her back to CatCo, and although her sister was already working on an article detailing the recent security attack, it was never quite the same as being out in the field.

Doing anything to help mattered, but when you had superpowers or the full backing of a government organisation at your beck and call, doing the minimum felt like nothing at all. All Alex could do was advise her agents, keep an eye on matters and pretend that she wasn’t on the brink of a full-scale mental breakdown.

If they didn’t find the virus, another attack wasn’t just likely, it was unavoidable. It didn’t matter that Brainy had backed up the DEO’s firewall, what about everything else? The whole city was in danger. And, if this virus managed to reach out further than that, what could they do then?

“Director Danvers, can I speak with you?”

Alex started, nearly tripping over her own feet. She turned to find Brainy stood behind her. He looked like a kid who was about to admit to breaking his parent’s favourite vase. He twisted his Legion ring unthinkingly, looking anywhere but directly at her.

Thrown by the whole situation, Alex nodded wordlessly. Then she shook her head. “Of course, Brainy. What is it?”

“Uh.” Brainy glanced about himself, he appeared suddenly very aware of any listening ears. When it was clear no one else was within earshot, he continued, voice lowered, “Alex, do you remember when I said that the virus had disappeared from the server?”

 “Yeah?”

Brainy continued to play with his ring, it was very quickly becoming a nervous habit. “My theory may have been slightly… off.” He paused. “It didn’t disappear, rather, it jumped.”

Alex’s stomach lurched. “Jumped?”

“Uh, moved.” Brainy made a brief gesture with his hands. “From one server to another. My server.” He leaned forward, almost conspiratorially. “The virus is inside of me.”

Alex’s mouth opened, but no words came out. She cleared her throat, trying desperately to understand what she’d just been told. “I- hang on, what? What does that even mean?” Another thought occurred to her suddenly. “Are you alright?”

Brainy straightened, linking his fingers together. “I’m running diagnostics as we have this conversation. I should have a more accurate probability in a few moments, although the likelihood of this becoming anything severe is very low.”

“And if it does?”

“Hm?” Brainy glanced up at her with a frown. “Oh, I imagine it would not be… good.”

A lot of thoughts raced through Alex’s mind all at once. What kind of virus could jump into different servers, or for that matter sentient, half-biological beings? Was it dangerous, or did this make their job easier? Could Brainy learn from it if it was inside the computer part of his system, or would it damage him in the process? What did any of this _mean?_

Then she noticed it, and her heart sank with belated realisation.

Small beads of moisture had formed across Brainy’s forehead, locking with strands of his hair. She swallowed. “You’re sweating,” she noted, trying to keep her voice level.

In the months Brainy had been working for the DEO and the close-to year he’d been living in and out of this time period, Alex had never seen Brainy get sick. A part of her hadn’t even thought he _could_.

Brainy stared at her in confusion. He wiped at his brow experimentally, and Alex watched as that same realisation hit him as well.

“Admittedly, I thought I would have more time than this,” he muttered. “Nevertheless, I should explain. As the virus attacks my computer half, it is likely to cause my biological half to present symptoms as a means of defence.” He linked his hands together again. “I have already begun to compartmentalise crucial thought processing roles so that I have the desired energy to keep working on countermeasures. In the meantime, I’m still trying to devise a shutdown code for the virus itself and the branches that it’s used already to interact with the city.”

Alex resisted the urge to gape at him. “Brainy, if this thing is making you sick, surely this isn’t a good idea?”

“There is no other way around it,” Brainy said with a dismissive shrug. “So long as I can keep the virus contained, I should be able to continue as normal. In theory, at least. I’ve not had to host a virus within my system for a long time. The last was not… pleasant.”

“You’re filling me with confidence,” Alex deadpanned. “Are you sure about this?”

“Not particularly,” Brainy said with the same offhanded tone, “but there really is no alternative. Nothing from your time has the processing power to hold something like this. I can learn more from the virus with it in close-proximity, anyway. I should hope to have countermeasures available in the next couple of hours.”

Alex didn’t have anything she could say against him. It was true, they were fighting a computer virus that seemed to have clear connections to an alien origin. They had no one in the DEO quite like Brainy when it came to hacking or coding. He had a unique outlook, an ability to coexist with technology, to work on it from the inside. Alex trusted Brainy, but she was also worried for him. Despite his assurance that he would be okay to do this, he already looked worse for wear. A little tired, not quite steady on his feet.

“Let me know if you need anything,” Alex said seriously. “If this gets too much, I need you to tell me. Your wellbeing comes first, not this mission. Got it?”

Brainy nodded. “Understood.”

Before Alex could say anything more on the subject, an agent hurriedly rounded the corner. Alex recognised her from the team she’d put on surveillance.

“Director Danvers,” the agent said, a slight tremor in her voice. “We need you in the hub, three more buildings have been targeted by the virus.”

Alex stiffened. “Of course, I’ll be right there.”

As the agent turned to leave, Alex caught Brainy’s eye. “I thought you said the virus was inside you?”

Brainy sighed. "Let me explain..."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is nearly completed, so regular updates will ~actually~ be a thing. Can you imagine? That's rare for me!
> 
> Thanks for the kudos and comments you guys, it's really nice to know people are actually reading and liking this fic! So, thank you so much for that support, it means the world!
> 
> Until next time.

 “Eureka!” Brainy pulled away from the computer, pointing emphatically at the screen. “I’ve done it!”

Alex hurried over. For the last half-hour she’d been staring at the four screens displayed on the wall and little else. Her eyes felt dry as sandpaper as she came to stand behind Brainy at his desk. She’d been concerned about seeing any possible deterioration in him, but so far he appeared to be holding up alright, although that might have been because he was just as distracted as Alex in getting any further in their investigation.

Another school had been hit by the virus halfway across the city. Two more office buildings had similar flare-ups with their security systems, both causing building-wide evacuations for no good reason. Brainy had explained that although the main body of the virus had jumped into his system, that didn’t mean that the branches that had already been active in the city weren’t still out there. Although part of one string of code, once disconnected from the main body, any branches could do whatever they pleased.

Alex stared at Brainy’s set-up with little success. It appeared he’d devised some kind of algorithm to calculate the language that the virus was using. More of that scripture was on his screen, fluctuating at random between what Alex assumed were letters of the alphabet. She frowned. “That’s great,” she said slowly. “What did you do?”

Brainy made a derisive sound. “What does it look like? I’ve created a rudimentary deactivation sequence that should – in theory – scramble the code in the branches out in the city, rendering them unstable and therefore inefficient.”

“You can shut them down?”

Brainy raised a finger. “Temporarily. For now, at least. I am not certain how many branches got out before the virus’s main body linked to my system. The branches are weaker versions of the original mass, they might not be as intelligent, but I couldn’t say that with confidence.”

“And what about the main virus?” Alex asked lowly.

Brainy waved her off. “The moment it actualised itself inside of my interface, I extracted it into an isolated compartment. It has incredible structure - you know, at first, I thought it was a code engineered by a higher intelligence, but on further inspection I have deduced that the virus is not being controlled or manipulated by an outside force at all. It has a _will_ of its own and… it appears to have a body.”

“A… body?”

“Metaphysical, of course. It isn’t just a code as I had first suspected. No… the virus _itself_ seems to be a sentient creature _comprised_ of code - some kind of alien parasite. How it got here, I’m not sure, _but_ with further study…”

Alex leant her hand against Brainy’s desk, effectively cutting him off. “Is all of this safe?”

Brainy made a face. “ _Safe_ is not quite the word I would use. It’s… controlled. Would that make you feel any better?”

“Not really,” Alex muttered. “I just don’t want this thing hurting you. You look tired.” And it was true, although Brainy’s enthusiasm didn’t betray the fact that he was harbouring an alien computer virus within his system, there were clear shadows beneath his eyes that hadn’t been there half an hour ago.

“I am,” Brainy said dismissively. “But that really isn’t the point. I can implant this disruption sequence into a short-distance transmitter. If dispatched to the security systems that are being affected, within range, this should nullify the branches.”

“I can get a team on it right away,” Alex said.

“Uh, Director Danvers?” Brainy said, glancing towards her. “I was running through current news footage as I worked, and I think that it might provide useful to have Supergirl on the scene. Preferably in front of a camera.”

Alex softened. “A morale booster?” She nearly smiled. “I agree. I can get her on it right away. I know she’s been itching to do something more physical.”

“Not quite as strenuous as punching bad guys, I’m sure,” Brainy said with a half-smile. “But, given the circumstances, I’m sure this will suffice.”

 

* * *

 

While Brainy put the final touches onto his transmitters, Alex found a quiet corner in the hallway to make a personal phone call.

Kara answered on the second ring.

“Any updates?” she asked immediately.

Alex nearly laughed at her eagerness. “You will not _believe_ what has been going on for the last couple of hours.” Alex cocked her head to the side. “Do you want the kinda goods news first, or the really not good at all news?”

“ _Kinda_ good news?” Kara asked timidly.

“Supergirl is required back on the scene,” Alex said, choosing to ignore Kara’s quiet _‘yes’_ which was almost certainly paired with a fist pump on her end. “Brainy’s figured out a way to temporarily shut down the branches of the virus in the city. We think it’d be a good idea for her to be on the scene as much as possible while we deploy the sequence. I think it’ll improve the city’s morale if they can see Supergirl dissuading the panic.”

Kara chuckled. “Oh, she can definitely do that.” Then she paused. “Uh, the not good news too, right? What’s that?”

Alex’s chest tightened at the thought. Brainy hadn’t told anyone other than her about this. She could trust Kara with everything, but even still, it was hard to formulate the right words.

“It’s Brainy,” she began, taking a breath. “He, uh, told me that when he connected his interface with the DEO’s firewall, the virus used that as an opportunity to get inside of his computer half. He’s infected with it, to a degree at least, I think, it’s complicated.” Alex shook her head, frowning. “I’m worried. He says he has it handled, that as long as the main body of the virus is trying to work through him, all the branches of it in the city are tameable. But it’s only been an hour and I can already tell he’s struggling with it.”

“Wait. Waitwait _wait,_ hang on. _What?_ Is he okay?”

“As okay as he can be.” Alex rubbed a hand over her face. “It’s making him sick. He’s not worried about that, he only cares about fixing all of this, but like I said, he’s already symptomatic. I’ve studied alien biology, but I don’t know the first thing about Coluans. If he gets _worse-”_

“Alex, hey, take a breath, it’s okay.” Kara’s voice was strained, but still managed to come across as soothing despite the circumstances. “Brainy knows what he’s doing, I’m sure. If he gets worse, tell me, we’ll figure it out together. Until then, he’s protecting the city by doing this. I can’t say I condone this method, but it’s not really like he had a choice.” She sighed. “Just keep an eye on him. Supergirl will meet with your ground team, but call me if anything happens with Brainy, all right?”

Alex closed her eyes, nodding. “Alright. Speak to you later. I love you.”

“Love you too.”

 

* * *

 

Brainy waited with bated breath for confirmation that his transmitter was working.

Under normal circumstances, he would have never doubted his ability for a matter such as this. He’d halted viruses before and, during his earlier years – before the Legion – he’d even created a few for his own purposes. He knew many languages of code that extended to multiple galaxies, but not this one. And these were far from normal circumstances.

Focusing on his task was getting… complicated. It had already taken him twice as long to identify the code’s language and from there, creating the disruptive sequence had not been as simple as he’d initially thought. His mind was running slower than it should have been and, even with the virus locked away, he could feel it like a pressure inside his head, an uncomfortable itch that he couldn’t reach.

His comm came to life. The ground team sent to the closest office building had landed. It was a one-way feed, a source to update the agents in the hub. Brainy listened intently for those updates, trying desperately to ignore the sudden pounding in his skull.

He hadn’t gotten sick in so long, he’d nearly forgotten what it felt like. From his time period, most maladies had vaccinations, and those that didn’t generally didn’t affect his species. It had only been recently with the AI plate that he’d been in any danger at all. An alien species predominately made from virus coding was not something he’d expected to encounter in the early twenty-first century.

“Mission success, the transmitter is working. Security system is rebooting on site.”

Brainy ducked his head, resting his hands against the back of his neck. The sequence was holding; if it could scramble the virus for long enough, all Brainy had to do was figure out the innerworkings of the main virus’ body. It was a masterpiece, plain and simple, and it would take time to study it, to understand how it worked before he could devise a method of shutting it down completely. It was the brain that powered every branch – the _mothership_. And, if he killed the mothership, the rest would fall. Just like _Independence Day_.

That had been one of Alex’s film recommendations for movie night last week. Despite the human race’s obsession with painting alien races as the bad guys, Brainy had to admit that it had quickly become one of his favourites.

But he had to focus. Which was suddenly so much _harder._ Staring at the computer screen was starting to hurt his eyes, and the virus was not sitting still inside its neatly structured compartment. After all, it was at the epicentre of one of the most powerful buildings in the city. If it got out of its confines… it could slip right back through the firewall and carry on where it left off, upgrades be damned.

Brainy swallowed, closing his eyes. It suddenly felt far warmer in the room than it ought to have been; it was suffocating, leaving a bitter twist in the pit of his stomach. He felt… uncomfortable.

He couldn’t stay here, not right now. It would only halt his progress. Alex had been watching him like a hawk, but she’d become preoccupied with the ground teams enough that she wasn’t currently standing in the hub. If he could sneak away undetected, he should be able to gather the time and peace to close off the world and focus solely on his inner structures.

He stood carefully, desperate not to rouse suspicion of his current state. The pain in his head pounded to a similar fashion of his heart, blurring his vision as he moved.

It would be fine, though. He was more than capable of doing this. He just had to keep going forward.

 

* * *

 

Alex wasn’t surprised to find Brainy’s desk empty not an hour after he’d insisted he was fine to keep working. She could tell that, despite what he might have told her, he was beginning to feel the effects of the virus. It didn't take a genius to notice the sweat on his brow or the pallor of his skin. Even still, Alex had respected his choice to continue; after all, he was the only person who could find out how the virus worked, who could study it in any detail. He’d told her he could do this, and she’d trusted that.

Seeing his empty chair, though? Alex couldn’t help but feel responsible.

It wasn’t unusual for Brainy to wander off. During the early days when she’d had to ground him from active duty, he’d disappear somewhere into the building at random intervals, almost to spite her. It had been infuriating, but more like the kind of infuriated she’d felt when Kara had hogged the bathroom when they were kids. The longer Alex worked with Brainy, the more in-sync their cooperation had become. Brainy hardly needed an order to carry out what Alex wanted of him now, unless of course it involved deviation from the norm. Brainy still wasn’t quite accustomed to anything that involved Alex choosing the less likely of two options.

Probability had never been Alex’s strong suit. Even still, she knew Brainy well enough to find him in the corridor. He had a few spots around the building that weren’t regularly frequented by other agents. Quiet places that allowed him to slip into the deeper recesses of his programming, to think clearly without anyone interrupting him.

Alex had been worried about that. Since the virus had started presenting symptoms, she’d been trying to keep an eye on him without being obvious. She wasn’t sure if it had been working, but she felt that it wasn’t a coincidence that in the few minutes it took for her to deal with business away from the hub, that had been the moment Brainy had chosen to disappear.

He’d seemed focused enough to study the virus, but Alex had seen the sweat beading on his forehead, the way that his dark fringe had begun to stick to his face. She wasn’t sure how he was feeling on the inside, but she’d spent enough time in the medical field to know when someone was in clear discomfort, no matter how hard they tried to hide it.

It was the same for aliens, it appeared, because when Alex rounded the corner of the corridor, she found Brainy with his back pressed against the wall. His eyes were closed, one hand was half raised towards his face, his fingers moving at a practiced pace that suggested he was working on something inside his mind. Alex figured it must have to do with the computer-side of him, the part that was currently in a head-to-head battle with the virus locked inside his system.

She didn’t want to break him out of it, not really, but even from a distance she couldn’t ignore the shadows beneath Brainy’s eyes, or the way that his free arm was wrapped protectively around his chest. His brow was creased, and as his fingers paused a moment in their calculations, Alex was sure that she could see him wince.

That, she decided, was the last straw.

“It’s getting worse, isn’t it?”

Brainy’s eyes opened, a look of confusion so profound and clear crossed his face that Alex felt guilty all over again for causing it. He glanced at her, but it seemed to take a moment for him realise who he was looking at. Once he did, he straightened, but didn’t move away from the support of the wall.

“I can assure you, Alex, I have it handled,” Brainy said, although even he didn’t sound convinced. He looked away from Alex, his eyes scanning back and forth before him, as though he was reading an invisible wall of text. “I just have to… recalibrate a few things. Then I can get back to building countermeasures.”

Alex’s jaw locked. She took a step forward. “See, I don’t think you have this handled. In fact, I think you’re one stiff breeze away from being sprawled on the floor.”

Brainy took affront at that. He straightened a little, fixing her with a glare that’s weight didn’t carry under the circumstances. “I am doing everything in my power to control this _inconvenience._ ” He gestured to himself flippantly. “There is no outcome where we succeed if I do not assist in this scenario.”

“Yeah,” Alex said. “And we definitely won’t beat this if you work yourself sick.”

“I’m already sick,” Brainy said bitterly. “At least this way I can be of some use.”

Alex’s eyes narrowed. In many ways, Brainy’s stubbornness reminded her of Kara’s. Granted, Kara had rarely gotten sick, but Alex couldn’t count the amount of times she’d had to pull her sister back from doing something fundamentally stupid. Heroes always seemed to think they knew best, but she would be damned if she let her family get hurt because of their own pride.

“You won’t be any help to anyone if you collapse. And, yes, I know that you’re not far off from that so don’t even bother fighting me on it.”

Brainy frowned, pressing a hand to his head. “Alex-”

Alex raised her hand. “No. I’m taking you to the med bay.”

“Alex…”

“That’s an _order,_ Agent Dox!”

She hated pulling the Agent card on him, but in work-related situations, places where Alex was forced to use her status, it was the only thing that worked. She’d used it on Kara with varying results, but at the very least, Brainy generally responded to it.

Except this time, he didn’t respond to her at all. His eyes glazed over for a moment before the arm cradling his chest tightened. He swallowed once, and Alex realised belatedly that his skin wasn’t just paler, but had taken on a sickly hue.

She didn’t have to think. Her old training kicked in immediately. She cleared the space between the two of them in three strides, grabbing Brainy by the shoulder as soon as she was close enough. She didn’t ask him any questions, she doubted he’d be able to respond anyway. Instead, all she said was, “Keep your mouth closed.”

She then proceeded to push him in the direction of the nearest bathroom.

 

* * *

 

Alex had dealt with vomit a lot, especially during her training days. Whether it had been working in hospitals as a student or training new recruits at the DEO, people throwing up in front of her had just become expected no matter what field she was in.

It didn’t make it easier to watch, especially when the person she was trying to help was clearly sick in a way she couldn’t even begin to understand. Biology was one thing, but a computer virus a _ttacking_ biology? She’d never studied this before, never witnessed it. Not until now.

Alex waited patiently by the door to the cubicle, arms folded. She knew Brainy well enough to appreciate that physical contact wasn’t his strong suit. From observing him over the last few hours, she’d come to realise that that had only gotten worse as the virus had developed. People had become a nuisance; their presence had distracted him to the point that he’d physically flinch when someone passed him by. She didn’t want to make the same mistake, but at the same time, she was at a loss for what to do.

She listened to him gag, vomit and repeat three times before the toilet flushed. She didn’t hear movement, she could scarcely hear him breathe.

Alex bit her lip. “Brainy?” she asked uncertainly.

“I’m okay,” Brainy said after a beat. Alex was certain it was the biggest lie he’d told his whole life. “I just need a moment to… process a few things.” She heard him swallow. “I haven’t experienced this in a long time, I need to ensure I can continue working.”

Alex flinched at that. “No, Brainy, no way. You’re too sick. We’re pulling the plug on this, you need to rest.”

Brainy made a derisive sound. “I only have a rudimentary shut down code for any cloned branches the virus might produce. I haven’t had the time to, to-” He broke off suddenly, and Alex sighed, bowing her head.

How strange this must look, she thought. Here they were, discussing work whilst one of them was quite literally in the process of being violently ill. She took a step forward, unsurprised when she heard more retching from inside the cubicle. There was a water cooler stationed just outside the bathroom. Confident that Brainy would be a while longer, Alex wandered outside, grabbing a plastic cup and filling it more or less on autopilot. By the time she was back in the bathroom, things appeared quiet again.

Alex waited patiently until the door to the cubicle opened. To say that Brainy didn’t look great was an understatement. His dark hair was damp with sweat, the shadows beneath his eyes seemed darker and more pronounced. He clutched to the side of the cubicle for all it was worth, practically leaning his whole weight into it to keep from falling. He didn’t look at Alex, only straight ahead, his eyes scanning back and forth, caught in their own world.

How could he still be processing anything? Alex understood in part just how many compartments Brainy could create and use to store information inside his own head, but surely feeling this way would have affected his focus for tasks such as that? How he was able to multitask at all was both fascinating and incredibly concerning to watch.

Alex cleared her throat, taking a tentative step forward. “Here, drink this, you need to stay hydrated.”

Brainy glanced at the cup warily before looking away. “Maybe in a moment.” He stared listlessly ahead of himself.

Alex frowned. “What is it?”

Brainy shook his head slowly, lowering his chin. “You were right before. It has gotten worse, I didn’t- I thought I could keep the virus stored in one place, but it keeps _pushing_.” He swayed slightly, hand clenching tightly against the cubicle door. “I hadn’t considered it as a likelihood before, but Alex, you should know-”

Before he could finish, Kara’s voice sharply cut into Alex’s ear.

“Alex, we deployed the shut-down code at the school, but three more alarms have been triggered in the process. Are we any closer to finding a more permanent solution?”

Alex could read in between the lines of what her sister hadn’t said, but heavily implied. Even _she_ couldn’t be everywhere at once. If the virus continued to spread, there’d be wide-scale panic.

“Not yet,” Alex said. “Supergirl, the code is going to have to wait. Brainy’s getting worse, I’m benching him for the time being.”

“How bad is he?” Worry tinged Kara’s voice. “Should I come back or-?”

“No, we need you in the field,” Alex said, wincing. “I’m sorry. I have it handled back here. For now, just keep doing what you’re doing. I’ll deploy more agents to help you. The new codes have been upgraded to standard procedure.”

Kara hesitated. “Okay. I will. Just, let me know if you need me.”

Alex nodded, closing her eyes. “I will.”

As the line between them cut out, for just a moment Alex wished selfishly that she could call Kara back. Kara had always been the empathetic one, she knew just the right thing to say to lighten the mood, to make anyone feel better. Alex felt like Brainy deserved that – someone who could try and get him to focus on anything other than how he was feeling.

In truth, Alex had never had the best bed-side manner.

But right now, that didn’t matter. Especially when Brainy groaned, reaching a shaking hand towards his head. He pitched to the side slightly, and the swing of the cubicle door nearly caused him to lose his balance.

Alex grabbed him with her free hand, steadying him on his feet. _God_ he was warm. Even through his clothes she could feel the heat radiating from him. Could you burn out a computer virus, she wondered?

“Hey, stay with me,” Alex said, her voice tight. “Tell me what’s happening.”

Brainy’s hand fisted against the side of his head, tangling with loose strands of his hair. “It’s fighting me,” he gritted. “It wants something, it wants…” He drew off, inhaling sharply.

In the same moment, Alex’s comm started ringing. _Loudly._ She hissed out, the high pitch squeal felt invasive enough to burst her ear drum. She dug the earpiece out instinctively, staring at it for just a moment before throwing it across the room.

The comm continued to ring, a sharp droning sound that sliced through the air. Alex walked briskly over to it, driving the heel of her boot down against the device until the sound had nothing left to carry through.

Brainy had found his way to the wall. He had his hands pressed against it for support. His head was bowed, his eyes scrunched with pain. Words were passing from his lips, small exhales of breath that could barely count as sound. Alex glanced down at the comm beneath her boot, then back to where Brainy was stood.

Something clicked.

She felt incredibly stupid for not realising it sooner.

Brainy could connect to any kind of tech, could dismantle it from the inside. It’s what made him such a valuable member of the DEO, and one of the main reasons Alex tried as much as she could to act as a buffer between him and Colonel Haley. Haley was relentless, the more Alex learned about her, the more she grew concerned for any aliens on the payroll – especially those with incredible abilities. The tides were turning, and it was clear Haley didn’t regard aliens in the same way as humans. Humans were a responsibility whereas aliens were useful, useable, _disposable._

It made Alex sick just to think it, but she couldn’t focus on that. Brainy had just rendered her comm device completely useless in seconds, and he was still in pain, still stood with his back arched, hands clenched tightly against the wall. He was tense and coiled, but he was still murmuring something under his breath. Alex couldn’t discern it, but she was afraid to ask what it meant. She wasn’t even sure he’d hear her if she did.

If it was English, she couldn’t understand the words being spoken. If Brainy was fighting for his control, trying to pull him out of this was not a move Alex was willing to make. In the past, she’d respected his need for space when it came to figuring out critical thought processes. She wavered, wondering whether she should give him that space now.

She didn’t move. She couldn’t bring herself to. Whether or not Brainy wanted her here was beyond the point, right now it appeared he didn’t notice her either way. When he came out of this – whatever this was – she wanted to be right there to get him to the med bay. No more delaying the inevitable, he needed to be properly checked out, especially if this virus was affecting his control. The last thing they needed was another building-wide black out.

Eventually, Brainy’s lips stopped moving. He swallowed once, almost experimentally, before lifting his head. Alex’s heart leapt into her throat, but she forced herself to stay where she was. She had to let him come to on his own.

Slowly, Brainy pushed himself from the wall, swiping away his hair as an afterthought. He still wasn’t steady on his feet, but he didn’t look nearly as pale as he had done before. Now he just looked tired.

Alex held the water out to him. She didn’t say anything, she didn’t need to. Brainy sighed, accepting the small plastic cup.

Alex didn’t say anything until he’d finished the cup. Although she wasn’t fully aware of his biology when compared to a human’s, it was common sense to assume that he’d be dehydrated after throwing up for ten minutes straight. A few stark memories of having the stomach flu as a teenager came back to her, and Alex had to suppress a shudder at the thought. It wasn’t just dehydration, it was the physical toll it had on your body. Not to mention everything Brainy had been doing to keep the virus locked away from vital parts of his system.

Clearly, that was no longer working.

 

* * *

 

The trip to the med bay was by no means easy. Although Brainy looked a little better, he couldn’t walk too far without pitching to the side. After a very quick, low-voiced argument between the two of them, Brainy relented and allowed Alex to hold him steady.

There had been many times Alex had secretly wished to have Supergirl’s powers. Now all she wanted was Kara’s limitless strength so that it didn’t feel like dragging a dead weight through eight whole corridors.

When Brainy was sat on the edge of the closest medical bed, only then did Alex glare at him. “When were you going to tell me?” she demanded.

Brainy stared at her. “About… what?”

Alex’s jaw tightened. “You know exactly what.” When she was only met with a blank stare, she sighed. “The comm, Brainy. I know you made it freak out like that.”

“Oh,” Brainy said, glancing away. “That.”

“Uh-huh,” Alex said. “Spill.”

Brainy ran a hand over his face, blinking slowly. It was clear he was tired, but Alex had to play the role of Director here. If Brainy’s powers got out of control, nothing was safe within the DEO. She had to have all the facts in front of her to be able to adequately deal with the situation.

Finally, Brainy sighed. “I didn’t think this would happen, but it was a possibility. The virus is… _stronger_ than I had anticipated. Although compartmentalised, it’s still affecting me, infecting any processes it can reach out to.” Brainy lifted a hand towards his head, making the same gesture that Alex had seen him do in the hallway. “I have to constantly rebuild around it, but to analyse it at the same time, to be able to create an adequate countermeasure… it’s a lot.” He practically heaved out the last of that sentence, his body visibly sagging with exhaustion. “I’ve harboured viruses in the past, but nothing like this. I feel _awful._ ” He shook his head, wrapping his free arm around his chest. “How do you humans do it?”

Alex snorted. “Usually, we take enough meds to knock ourselves out and stay like that for three days straight.” She bumped his shoulder. “You should consider it.”

“Ah,” Brainy said, raising his free hand. “That I cannot do.”

Alex frowned at that. “Why not? Brainy, surely taking even a few hours to rest would be beneficial for you.”

“You don’t understand,” Brainy said, glancing up at her. “I don’t have that luxury. Sleep for humans requires all functions but the base necessity to power down. I cannot do that, there is too much that I have to control that simply cannot run dormant. If I were to try… the result would not be pretty.”

Alex’s stomach churned. “You mean, the virus would get out?”

“Most definitely,” Brainy said, raising his chin. “Even now, it’s a struggle. Perhaps, _perhaps_ I could take some time to rest and recalibrate, but it would have to be in a controlled environment. Somewhere that the virus would be less inclined to try and escape.”

“A cell?”

“No.” Brainy winced, and Alex could see his arm tighten around his chest. “Not here. The virus can sense the technology surrounding it right now, things that it would ever so love to infect. I could not stay within the DEO, there’s too much background noise.” His jaw tensed. “If I’m being honest, it… well, it _hurts_.”

Alex’s heart ached for him. She’d known he’d not been feeling great for far longer than he’d been letting on, but she hadn’t realised the extent of it. She couldn’t imagine what it felt like, to have something inside you, breaking you down, making every second a struggle.

“Brainy,” Alex murmured. She wasn’t sure what she could say. There wasn’t anything _to_ say. He’d spent this whole time working like he wasn’t being tortured from the inside. And she’d _allowed_ that.

Before she could say anything further, Brainy bent forward, his hands coming to rest against his temples. He made a pained sound at the back of his throat, his fingers digging into his skin.

The medical scanner to her right flared to life, igniting with so much power that it flashed white hot for just a second before shorting out completely. Sparks shot out from the device, and Alex jumped to the side reflexively.

It wasn’t just the equipment, the fluorescent lights above their heads began to fade in and out too, a high-pitched ringing hummed from the bulbs before their fuses snapped and the room went dark.

Alex stared in stunned silence. Stunned, that is, until she saw the lights flickering in the hallway outside as well.

One by one, like something was travelling through them.

Because something _was_ travelling through them.

“Brainy,” she said, turning to him desperately. He still had his hands pressed against his head, and she could see, just like last time, that he was muttering something under his breath.

She couldn’t leave him to come out of it on his own this time. She had to give him a push. She grabbed his shoulder, shaking him both as gently and thoroughly as possible.

“Brainy,” she said, louder this time. “Come on, snap out of it. I think something got out. Can you hear me?”

Brainy hissed, his eyes opening minutely. They scanned ahead of him distantly for a moment, his fingers curling against his temples. Then he blinked, glancing upwards. “I tried to fight it,” he said hoarsely. “I…” He shook his head, making to stand. “ _We_ have to stop it.”

Alex grabbed onto him as he nearly pitched forwards. “What happened?” she asked.

Brainy gestured vaguely with one hand. “The virus… it expanded. It created more branches within its confines. I couldn’t stop all of them, one got through… it’s… it’s heading for the main hub.” He paused. “I know what it wants.”

Whether it was adrenaline or the lifted weight of one branch of the virus, Alex wasn’t sure, but in that moment Brainy’s eyes were clear.

 They both ran from the med bay, descending the stairs to the main hub like they were about to meet a massacre.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :) Thanks for your continued support! 
> 
> I have now officially written the whole story, so it's just a matter of editing everything so it's somewhat coherent!! Yay!!

The second Alex jumped the last three steps, the hub’s warning lights glowed fierce and red. An alarm blared from a nearby wall, echoing around them. Alex saw Brainy falter; it was just for a moment, but it still made her gut twist apprehensively.

The DEO had an alarm for just about anything. The most daunting for Alex had always been the Kryptonite alarm, but this was a close second. Alex knew this alarm well, she’d had it memorised. She’d hoped to never hear it for real.

The warning siren that meant the DEO’s security was down. Not just the lights, not just the feeds, but _all_ of it. A complete and total hostile takeover.

The screens glared a horrible shade of red. White scribbles – the same language Alex had seen before – were scrolling across every available electronic surface. Some agents were typing furiously against it, others were looking for a more physical enemy to fight.

Mostly, people just looked scared.

“Tell me what’s happening,” Alex ordered. As she moved into the central hub, she grabbed a spare comm device from the desk, slipping it into her ear.

A very frightened young woman by one of the screens turned her head. “Director Danvers, the virus is in the system. It just linked up with the desert base.”

Alex’s heart froze. “The cells?” she asked.

“Operational,” another agent said. He had a hand to his comm. “The virus is running interference with communications, but the last I heard, the cells were still functioning.”

 _Think, Alex, think,_ her mind demanded of her. _If not the cells, then what does it want? What’s its main focus?_

Alex stopped. “Brainy,” she said sharply. Other agents swarmed the hub, and she should have been addressing him formally, but she couldn’t think of anything other than the dawning horror of what the virus wanted. Of what Brainy had known. Because he was just as pale as she was, and it only had part to do with the virus he was harbouring.

J’onn had made an effort to make the DEO a more humane base of operations, but the desert base had always been crooked; it was a storage facility for some of the DEO’s most dangerous weapons. Government-ordered designs, missiles that never passed code. Nuclear charges that were meant for Earth-ending threats.

All things they’d never thought they’d need. Not with Supergirl, not with Superman. But no one had destroyed these weapons – half of them weren’t even offline. They lay dormant, dormant in the hands of paranoid military leaders and the politicians who used and abused that fear to keep those weapons running.

Weapons of mass destruction.

And this virus was about to unlock the activation codes for all of them.

Brainy didn’t need to say anything to Alex, she already knew what he would have to do. She couldn’t bring herself to carry out the order verbally, all she could do was nod.

Brainy didn’t hesitate. He made his way to the closest computer and got to work. Alex watched as he linked his hands together, bowing his head. His damp hair fell forward, obscuring his expression, but from the tension in his shoulders, Alex knew just how much of a strain he was putting on his body.

She forced her eyes to the rest of the hub, to the screens that still blared an angry red. The alien scripture seemed to be running slower now, pixelating before visualising on the screen. Alex could only hope that Brainy had gotten to the virus fast enough.

“Director,” the female agent from before said. “The desert base’s test missiles just went green.”

“Keep an eye on them,” Alex said through her teeth. She already had a hand to her new comm. “Supergirl,” she said. “Come in. I need you at the desert base, we have a possible critical situation. Missiles are set to launch. We don’t yet know if a target has been programmed.”

How smart was the virus? The last target codes would have been open spaces, unpopulated areas. Those missiles weren’t meant for anything other than training; they would have never been used in the field.

And yet Alex had this horrible feeling gnawing at the pit of her stomach, urging her to think bigger, to consider every option. To consider the worst possible option.

“Agent Dox,” Alex said, composing herself somewhat. “Do we have an update?”

It felt wrong to ignore everything in favour of results, but she had no other choice. Not half an hour ago, Brainy had been hunched over a toilet vomiting up his lunch, twenty minutes ago he’d barely been able to keep himself upright. Now he was fighting this virus. _Again._ And winning the battle wasn’t exactly the end to the war. No, for him, it would be just the beginning.

Brainy didn’t answer her, he was locked deep inside his own processes. Still, Alex could see that something was giving, she just didn’t know if it would be enough.

 

* * *

 

“I have eyes on the base,” Kara said.

The agents Alex had deployed were still set to target the remaining security breaches around the city, and Kara hadn’t hesitated when Alex had given the order.

If part of the virus had reached the desert base, Rao only knew what might happen. Kara had never been given the full tour of the desert base – it had still been an unsteady time, not everyone had trusted her – and the military had kept anything not up to code hidden behind lock and key.

Kara could see the whole base from her vantage point in the sky. With a moment to focus her other senses, she could pick up on something else. The low hum of old machinery powering on.

“Something’s happening,” Kara said, changing to her x-ray vision for a more detailed sweep of the base. She could catch the glare of something on the old training grounds the military had used to test her abilities. It sat just beneath the surface of the ground, metal tubing of some kind with three arms branched out on the top. They were lead lined, Kara couldn’t see what was inside them, but she had to assume they were dangerous.

“That would be the test missiles,” Alex said. “Brainy’s trying to stop them. Do you have visual on what they’re doing?”

The last Kara had heard, Alex had benched Brainy for his own health. If he was back working on this, she knew it must have been bad. Really, really bad.

She vaguely remembered using those missiles in test exercises. They were never programmed with a real route in place, but they were fast and could travel for quite some time before needing to detonate.

Was the base far enough from National City? It wasn’t a risk Kara was willing to take.

She watched as the ground opened up, the test missiles rose from beneath, whirring as they spun on their axel.

“Alex,” Kara said. “They’re doing something. I can stop them before they deploy.”

“No!” Alex’s voice was sharp. “Kara, if you try to damage the launcher, all countermeasures will be activated. We don’t know what part of the system the virus has breached, if you activate those countermeasures, you'll be giving it a direct line to all of that power.”

“I can’t just do nothing!” Kara gritted. “It looks like it’s picking a course. Can Brainy stop it?”

“I…” Alex drew off, sucking in a breath. “Kara, I need you to be ready for the worst.”

Kara stiffened, clenching her hands. “Of course. I’m ready.”

 

* * *

 

Brainy hadn’t moved from his position. Although the tangle of code on the screens was slower, it hadn’t stopped, and Alex had no idea how close Brainy was to breaking through.

She worried her lip, glancing from Brainy to the rest of the room. Agents were flocking to the screens now, speaking over their comms in an attempt to regain communications with the base.

Alex heard Brainy breathe in sharply, hunching further in on himself. The next second, one of the screens went black.

“Director,” one of the agents who had been working that screen turned with wide eyes. “We just regained satellites from the desert base.”

Alex released a breath she hadn’t realised she’d been holding. “Get me images on screen,” she ordered. “I want to see exactly what we’re dealing with.”

Satellite imaging couldn’t tell the whole story, but it would pick up on heat signatures from the launcher that had gone online, as well as linking to the tracker in Supergirl’s suit. They might not be able to see the base in all its glory, but they would be able to see _something._ And something was a lot better than being in the dark.

“Launcher is active,” another agent said. “Set to unload in fifteen seconds.”

“Agent Dox,” Alex tried again. “Can we get it offline?”

Brainy tensed. “I’m channelling the virus back through it’s initial pathway. It still has control of the launch sequence.” He spoke without looking up, but his voice wasn’t carrying like usual. He sounded weaker.

Alex hated every second of this, but she had no other choice. “Can we regain that control?”

“Yes,” Brainy said. “But… there’s a forty percent, no, sixty-seven, seventy-three and still climbing…” His hands clenched together. “The first missile is already prepared for launch, I can’t- I can’t _stop_ it.” He swallowed sharply, splaying his hands down over the keys. “I can pull the virus out of the system, but it’s overridden the launch code. I cannot stop what is already in motion.”

Alex closed her eyes. “Supergirl, the launcher is going to go off. I need you to make sure it detonates whilst airborne.”

“Got it.”

“Brainy,” Alex said, glancing back to him. “Pull the virus out, Supergirl will handle the rest.”

Brainy lowered his head again, running his hands across the keys. In the next moment, every screen displaying alien scripture went dark.

 

* * *

 

The launcher made a whirring sound as it calibrated its route. It took everything in Kara’s power to stay where she was, but she knew it would do no good to try and dismantle the weapon. If she did that, the whole base would turn on her, the virus along wtih it. She had to wait. She had to be patient. She had to-

The launcher pitched skyward, and with a lurch of machinery, the missile was deployed into the air.

Kara’s chest heaved. She’d seen these things in motion before - she’d been their target more than once - but there was something different about this projectile. It flew with a speed unlike anything she’d seen from this base, and a sharp-eyed precision that was downright terrifying.

She propelled herself forward, finding it tricky to match the speed of the missile. It was a small projectile, nothing like the bombs she’d dismantled in the past, but it was narrow, hard to grab at, and flew with an unwavering amount of speed. Speed that shouldn’t have been possible for it.

Kara grabbed for it, only to hiss in surprise when white hot sparks shot from the missile’s base. It was burning up. How could it even be doing that?

“Alex,” Kara said, voice wavering. “There’s something wrong with the missile. It’s like it’s been suped-up.”

“How do you mean?” Alex sounded distracted.

“It’s moving faster than anything I saw during training, it’s burning itself up, the missile’s not going to detonate, it’s going to _explode_.”

“Are there any civilians nearby?”

Kara had been so focused on the weapon, she hadn’t thought to look down. They were still flying high over desert plains. National City was far out of reach, but there was a small town on the outskirts coming up straight ahead. There was no telling what kind of explosion this thing would give off considering the fact it was practically glowing with energy. If it went off over someone’s house, over a car or a building…

Kara gritted her teeth, pushing herself further forward. She reached out for the missile, slipping her hands along the right-hand side of it, twisting her body along with it. The added pressure did as she’d hoped, the missile began to waver, turning out and away from the town.

But it was tipping. It was travelling far too fast for it to be able to compensate aerodynamically. It was going to go straight into the ground.

“Great,” Kara gritted.

She didn’t get a response over her comm, she didn’t really need one. She couldn’t stop the missile from hitting down, couldn’t keep it from exploding. All she could do was hope it wouldn’t be big enough to affect the town she’d just discouraged the missile from hitting.

Kara followed the missile downwards, she could hear it hiss and spark, could see bright flames licking from beneath the metal panels bolting it together.

Oh, this was going to suck so much.

 

* * *

 

The second the screens went out, Brainy stood from his chair, pitching away from the desk in wide-eyed shock. That shock quickly dissolved into pain. He staggered, clutching his head with one hand, eyes scanning the empty air ahead of him.

There was too much going on inside his head. The added branch of the virus was like a kick to the chest; although it was attracted to the rest of its main body stored away in his reinforced prison, the added weight of it inside of him was nearly too much to bear.

The pain was overwhelming, exploding like white hot stars behind his eyes. He had to rebuild, he had to compensate for the added pressure somehow. If he didn’t, if he so much as left a crack for the virus to escape through…

Everything in this room was like a magnet, pulling the virus towards it. It could sense the power inside this room, it had already tasted its victory once before, now it knew the back doors, the entrances to new and more interesting destinations.

Brainy could see into its thought process in a way. It was hard to describe, simply because the virus wasn’t exactly sentient in the same way that he was. Although he had an artificial interface ingrained inside his biological systems, this creature’s interface was entirely different. It seemed to only want one thing.

Power.

It wanted all the power in the world.

And something told him even that wouldn’t be enough to sate it.

Brainy grabbed blindly for the hub’s table. Part of him was certain he might pass out, part of him thought he might vomit first. The only thing stopping him from doing either was the determination of keeping the virus exactly where it was, out of harm’s way.

He heard Alex say something to him, could feel someone’s hands on his shoulder, but right now all he could do was focus on his own internal mechanisms. He had to isolate the virus’s compartment, to stop it from trying to reach through. Ideally, he needed to get out of this room, but he couldn’t move, let alone form a coherent sentence to let anyone know what he needed. For right now, all Brainy could do was keep working. If he faltered again, he’d lose everything he’d been building, and he couldn’t allow that to happen.

 

* * *

 

Alex had known this moment was coming from the second Brainy had sat down at the computer. He’d taken the virus back successfully, and all around them the DEO’s systems were rebooting, the screens coming back online. They already had satellite footage of the desert base back up and running.

But Brainy was in a bad way. The second he’d pushed himself away from the computer, Alex had moved forward, watching, waiting for what might happen.

Honestly, she’d half expected him to pass out. He was far too pale, and there was a cold sweat brushed over his brow, trickling down the side of his face. He looked aware of both nothing and everything, staring blankly at the world but, internally, reading everything that came his way. He found the table, holding onto it for support.

He bowed his head, eyes coming to a close as he muttered that same language from before under his breath. Alex was starting to understand it as some kind of mantra. Something to keep him focused on whatever task he was doing, no matter how painful.

Alex stood next to him by the table, shooting a glare at any agent that so much as gaped in his direction. No one had been fully debriefed on exactly what Brainy was doing in regards to the virus, and Alex wanted to keep it that way. There were too many variables right now, too many concerns regarding who she could trust. There were people on her taskforce that harboured similar ideas to Haley, and Alex didn’t have the time to figure out who might be a threat to the way this unit was run. All she could do was protect what was right in front of her. Right now, that was Brainy.

Alex took his shoulder, hoping to come through to him somehow, or at least to help keep him from falling over. “I’m here,” she said. There was no use trying to ask him anything, not when he was like this. All she could do was assure him that he wasn’t alone.

“Alex.” Kara’s voice over the comm. “There’s something wrong with the missile. It’s like it’s been suped-up.”

 Brainy shuddered where he was stood, curling in on himself. Alex swallowed. “How do you mean?”

“It’s moving faster than anything I saw during training, it’s burning itself up, the missile’s not going to detonate, it’s going to _explode_.”

Alex glanced up at the screen. Her eyes widened at what she saw. The heat signature was _intense._ There was no way it should have been exhibiting that much heat. It wasn’t… it shouldn’t have been possible.

If it was deteriorating from the inside, there was no telling how the potency of the explosion had been affected. There was a chance that it might reduce the missile’s efficiency, but if it was supercharged somehow, despite how ridiculous that sounded when referring to a _training_ weapon…

Alex shook herself. “Are there any civilians nearby?”

Kara didn’t respond, but Alex could still hear air rushing through her comm, like she was deliberating on something. Alex was about to speak when Brainy shuddered again, arms shifting so that he could hold himself. Alex frowned, heat was practically radiating from him, but he was clearly freezing.

If his fever was getting that bad, she would need to discuss his body’s limitations once he was up to it. With the image inducer running, it was sometimes easy to forget that his biology was likely to be a lot different from a human’s. She would need to take his temperature as soon as possible, ideally away from the hub. It was clear that being this close to the DEO’s system wasn’t doing him any favours.

The screen glared, beeping as the missile suddenly changed trajectory. A rush of murmurs swarmed through the hub, all of which Brainy seemed completely oblivious to. Alex could only stare; the new trajectory was too sharp. The missile was losing height, fast.

“Where is that?” Alex demanded.

“The missile was headed for a small town just east of here,” one of the agents piped in. “It appears that Supergirl changed its course to avoid any casualties. The missile should hit down in an unpopulated area. But with the heat it’s creating… I’m not sure what kind of an explosion we’ll be looking at.”

“It’s the virus.”

Alex turned sharply back to Brainy. He was still shivering, but he jerked his chin towards the screen, swiping hair out of his face. “The missile has been charged, somehow, by the virus. It’s seeking power…and when it finds that power, it _overwhelms_ it.”

Alex’s expression softened. “What could we be looking at here?”

“I studied every weapon available on this base, but that information is not currently available to me.” Brainy bowed his head, his arms tightening around himself. “I’ve had to move a lot of stored information to make room for the virus. I do apologise, but without knowing the structure of the missile, I could not give a conclusive response. I would surmise that the missile’s detonation should not be catastrophic from its size, but it is likely to have a larger than normal radius. At the distance it is from the town, I would not think we would have to worry about civilians.”

Alex nodded. “Thank you,” she said.

Brainy didn’t respond, he simply leaned back against the table, breathing sharply as another shudder ran through his body. He clung to that position, eyes shut tight.

“Explosion imminent,” the same agent said. “Supergirl is not responding over comms.”

“Supergirl?” Alex asked, raising her voice. “It’s Alex, come in. What’s your status?”

She could see Kara’s tracker on the satellite feed. That paired with the heat signature that lay practically on top of that was not filling her with confidence. Realistically, Alex knew that a blast like this wouldn’t be life threatening to her sister. Her skin was literally fire-resistant. But that underlying fear ran deep. If there was ever a day for more to go wrong, this would be it.

“Five seconds until collision.”

Alex didn’t need to be told, but she still nodded her affirmation. “Supergirl,” she tried again. “Do you read me?”

Alex thought she could catch something through her comm, over the sound of rushing air. The heat signature reached its peak, just as the tracker and the missile overlapped on the screen.

Then an explosion rang through Alex’s comm.

Brainy tensed where he was resting against the table, hands clenching together.

Alex’s ears rang, but she didn’t switch off her comm. After the one Brainy had affected, she didn’t think anything could hurt quite as much.

The dead silence that followed the explosion, though. That was a strong contender.

Alex wasn’t sure how long she waited, heart in her throat, her body so tense it burned. Eventually, though, something came through on her comm.

“I’m okay,” Kara said over the line. She was breathless, but Alex knew her sister, knew if she was in any pain. She wasn’t. She really was okay. “The threat’s been neutralised,” Kara continued. “I couldn’t get it to go off whilst airborne, but the explosion was contained. No civilians have been injured.”

Alex sagged with relief. “Alright, Supergirl, thank you. Join back up with reinforcements in the city. I’ll send a team to take care of clean-up.”

“Got it!”

That was the thing about Kara. She had an endless amount of energy, and even after standing in the centre of an explosion, her voice was still as chipper as ever. It was amazing. Right now, it was exactly what Alex wished she had.

Alex shot off orders with only half of her attention on the task. It wasn’t hard all things considered. The shut down codes were still working for the time being, and new infections weren’t presenting themselves nearly as quickly. Alex had to hope that meant the code was working. She just wished there was a way to shut down the main body.

With the rest of her attention, Alex was studying Brainy from the corner of her eye, trying to figure out the best course of action. She could take him to the med bay, but that wouldn’t be a permanent solution. If it hadn’t been clear before, it was crystal now that the whole building was working against him where the virus was concerned.

They needed an alternative. Fast.

Once everyone had their orders, Alex lowered her voice. “How are you holding up?”

Brainy shot her a dark look from the corner of his eye, shoulders tensing as another shudder ran down his spine.

Alex softened. “Yeah, you’re right. That was a stupid question.”

“My internal temperature tells me that I am running a fever,” Brainy said tersely. “But I’m _freezing._ ”

Alex placed a hand against his forehead. Brainy glanced at her unsurely.

“Relax,” Alex said. “I don’t have a thermometer on me, but I need to know what we’re dealing with here.” She withdrew her hand. “You’re burning up, and yes that can sometimes mean you’ll feel the opposite. Fluctuations are normal, for humans at least.” She raised an eyebrow. “Would you say the same for Coluans?”

Brainy studied her with a frown, nodding slowly.

The weight pressing on her chest suddenly lifted. At the very least, she could be certain that Brainy was exhibiting normal signs of illness for his species. She jerked her head towards the hallway. “I’m going to get some blankets from the med bay. And you need to be as far away from the hub as possible, so, c’mon.”

Brainy followed her at an unsteady pace, shivering intermittently. They took the elevator to the second floor this time around. It was only ever really used by non-field agents and so right now, it was practically deserted.

Brainy leant against the back wall, closing his eyes.

“Is it any better?” Alex asked. “Now that we aren’t in the centre of it all, I mean?”

“In a manner of speaking,” Brainy said with a shrug. He didn’t look up. “Before, it felt like no matter what I did, the virus would find a way out. It’s hard to explain, but it’s almost as though it’s calmed down since then. I would not say that was necessarily a _good_ thing.”

“What you said before,” Alex said, “about the virus being able to overwhelm power sources?”

Brainy lifted one hand, curling in on himself. “Please, not right now,” he said. “It’s hard to… maintain focus as it is.”

Alex gave him a brief once-over. She recognised this body language from before. “Are you feeling nauseous again?”

“Yes,” Brainy said quietly. “I think it should pass, though. The elevator isn’t helping.”

“Okay,” Alex said slowly. “If you think that’s gonna change, let me know okay?”

Brainy nodded roughly, letting his hair fall forward. He was starting to look a lot paler, Alex realised. She didn’t want to get caught off guard like before, she’d much prefer to be prepared for it this time around.

When the elevator opened, Brainy took a moment to try and compose himself. It was clear the nausea hadn’t abated, but he was doing a good job of postponing the inevitable. They got all the way to the med bay doors before Brainy faltered. He pressed the back of his hand to his mouth, closing his eyes. “Alex,” he murmured, somewhat urgently.

Alex had already mapped out the closest medical bucket. They kept one tucked beneath the cabinet of each bed, exactly for these kinds of emergencies. Alex was already in the process of grabbing one when Brainy pitched forward, gagging against his hand.

She was just able to manoeuvre the bucket into Brainy’s arms before he retched into it.

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Alex murmured, tucking Brainy’s hair behind his ears. It was a reflexive move, one she thought he’d appreciate in the long run. Getting vomit in your hair was the last thing anyone wanted.

Although, there wasn’t much to come up. He was mostly dry heaving over the bucket _;_ the water came back up, unsurprisingly, but not much else. Still, that didn’t deter his stomach from rejecting everything inside, forcing him to cough up bile for a few minutes longer.

When the heaving became sparser, Alex guided Brainy to the closest bed, helping him sit against it. He was shaking, and his fever had yet to break. Alex fetched some blankets, wrapping them over his shoulders. Brainy didn’t seem to notice any of this, he simply leant over the bucket, trying his best to maintain his breathing.

Alex sighed, settling herself next to Brainy. “So… coming up here didn’t make it any better, huh?”

Brainy choked out a laugh, fingers curling against the bucket.

“We need a more permanent solution,” Alex decided. “You’re exhausted, you’re losing fluids. There has to be some way around this.”

Brainy kept his eyes closed. “You would like for me to rest, wouldn’t you?”

“In an ideal world, yeah.”

“And even if I were to tell you that sleeping is not the same thing for me as it is for you, that would not deter you?”

“No,” Alex said. “It wouldn’t. Mostly because I know you’re only telling me half the truth.”

Brainy sighed. “It would help,” he agreed. “To be able to maintain my focus solely on my internal systems would be… _very_ beneficial.” He shook his head. “But the time for that has passed. Before it expanded, there was a chance an isolated or controlled space may have worked. But now…” He branched off, closing his eyes. “It is too powerful, Alex.”

Alex pondered something. “It’s attracted to electrical interference, right?”

“Correct.”

“What if it wasn’t?”

Brainy did look up at her then. “That wouldn’t be possible.”

“Hear me out,” Alex said, raising her hands. “The virus is code, but you said it yourself, it’s more than that, it’s practically sentient. If it needs to connect to electronic devices to feed or, or, _overwhelm_ its power, then what if we just disrupted its ability to do that?”

Brainy stared at her. “Alex… that could actually work.” He frowned. “Why didn’t I think of that?”

“Twelfth level intellect aside, you’ve had a lot to deal with the last few hours.” Alex shrugged. “But, hey, I’m fine with being smarter than you for a day. It’s a great ego booster.”

Brainy’s eyes scanned the space in front of him. “It wouldn’t be a complete solution,” he said slowly. “The virus adapts, creates more of itself if it’s given the space _._ ” He frowned. “But… if we could confuse its ability to sense its surroundings, it might give me the time I need to figure out a way to shut it down for good.” His eyes widened. “I think I know what we need.”

He stood suddenly, only to groan and falter, hugging the bucket against his chest.

“Still nauseous?” Alex guessed.

Brainy nodded sharply, swallowing. “I… briefly forgot about that.”

Alex rolled her eyes. She took Brainy by the arm, helping him sit back against the bed. “Take a few minutes, the world’s not gonna end just because you have to wait for the room to stop spinning.”

“An apt description,” Brainy muttered. “Nothing I perceive is at a standstill.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I find it entertaining that I was worried about including a new area of the DEO in this chapter when Brainy literally broke into a new area of the DEO on last night's episode. And man, wasn't that episode awesome? I loved Brainy and Nia's interactions so much!
> 
> Speaking of which, guess who finally makes an appearance in this chapter? 
> 
> Thank you guys for your continued support. Kudos and comments are always greatly appreciated. :) 
> 
> Small note: I was going to start making a habit of trying to post a chapter every Monday and Friday. That being said, I'm seeing Endgame on Friday night and so I may not be in any kind of sane state to post anything. We shall see!

Once Brainy was confident enough to move without having the bucket on standby, they made their way to the lower floors of the DEO. Beyond the cells, far past the technology laid out on display, behind three solid layers of reinforced steel. It was a place Alex rarely needed to visit, and every time she came close, it left a bitter taste at the back of her mouth.

The archive room.

Technology from mixed backgrounds, weaponry and devices that hardly saw the light of day. A few had been used in fights between particularly tough alien adversaries, but most had only ever been activated once before being apprehended and quickly stored behind lock and key. Not everything in the archive room was dangerous, but – in the wrong hands - any of it could be.

Alex knew that Brainy had downloaded every blueprint of the DEO into his memory the second he’d started working for them. Even still, it was unnerving being here with him. Only a handful of agents within the entire organisation had authorised entry, and Brainy was only allowed that entry now because Alex was escorting him. Of course, Alex was pretty sure that even if she wasn’t here, Brainy would have found a way inside regardless.

Once Alex ran through the five layers of security to access the archive room, Brainy made for one of the small touch-screen panels that were fixed sparsely throughout the large space. He still wasn’t completely steady on his feet, but despite that, he pressed his hand against the panel, closing his eyes as it lit up beneath his fingers.

Alex could tell something was wrong before Brainy even drew away. His shoulders were rigid, and as he pulled away from the panel, he cursed under his breath, shaking his head.

“This… _should_ be simple,” he muttered, rubbing absently at his forehead.

Alex sighed, folding her arms. “Are you going to tell me what we need from here, or are you just going to keep acting like you’re on a one-man mission?”

Brainy glanced at her, then gestured to the panel. “By all means, if you are able to access the stored information for every piece of technology inside this room, categorise it and locate the piece we require in under five seconds, be my guest.”

Alex smirked. “You’re getting a lot better with sarcasm.”

“I have always been fluent,” Brainy muttered. “Humans just never seem to use it when it is actually required.”

“Okay,” Alex said, raising her hands. “I can see where this is going. Talk this out with me. What is it we need?”

Brainy huffed, rubbing a hand over his face. He looked far more exhausted than he had been not five minutes ago. At the rate he was burning himself out, Alex worried how much time they had left.

He moved back towards the panel, waving his hand a guarded pace away from it. “We are looking for a magnetic field disruptor. A device with the power to create small pockets of space that disrupt any and all magnetic and electronic interference.” He lifted his chin. “In my time, they are far more commonplace and can create much larger areas of disruption. Here, however, there is only one with the specific requirements we need. And it has been inside the archive for the last three years.”

Alex frowned. “Why… why do we have one?”

Brainy’s lips curled. “A valid question that I _should_ know the answer to.” He shook his head. “Any information the virus could potentially use has been stored away until I can stop it. I don’t _know_ why it’s here, nor can I remember exactly what code number it was stored under. My only hope was to access the panel and connect with it through my interface, but the virus is taking far too much of my concentration.” He faltered slightly, blinking slowly. “It can feel everything inside this room, if I make one mistake, it could take anything it wanted.”

Alex stepped forward. “Then don’t connect with it. We don’t need to. The archive’s interface is programmed to accept key words to narrow down search criteria. If there’s only one in the archive, it shouldn’t be hard to find what we’re looking for.” She glanced to Brainy. “Do you think you’d recognise the code number if you could see it?”

Brainy closed his eyes briefly, as though trying to confirm the answer with himself. He came to a conclusion, tipping his head to the side before nodding sharply. “…Yes,” he said. “I think so. The information is still there, it’s just hidden. A visual trigger should allow me a brief access point.”

“Alright,” Alex said, clapping her hands together. “Then that’s what we’ll do.”

 

* * *

 

Searching the archive was not designed to be easy. Even with key words to focus their search, every item within the archive was held under a unique code number. There were few agents within the DEO that had access to those code numbers, and fewer still that had memorised enough of them to be of any use. Alex had been debriefed on the mechanics of the archive, but the code numbers themselves were left in the hands of the agents to memorise.

Alex watched as Brainy’s eyes flickered from each number that crossed the limited space on the archive’s small panel. He considered each sequence closely before ultimately dismissing them and moving onto the next. Even with an incredibly narrowed criteria, an excess of twelve unique sequences had presented themselves on the screen.

Finally, Brainy located the correct sequence. He nodded towards Alex before taking a step from the panel. He wasn’t confident to diffuse the item from its holding cell, and Alex could see why. It hadn’t taken them as long as she’d expected to find the right sequence, but even still, in that time, Brainy’s state had regressed severely. He was paler than before, barely holding steady on his feet. Every once in a while, he’d pitch slightly to the side, only just managing to catch himself. He looked ready to collapse, and Alex had to use every bit of strength inside of her to keep focusing on their task. They needed this magnetic field disruptor, without it, Brainy would only get worse.

Alex selected the sequence, waiting patiently as the archive sorted through every cell before opening the hatch to the correct equipment. Every object was stored beneath a panel and would only rise from a pedestal when the correct code was entered. Alex was in no way looking forward to explaining to Haley why a piece of equipment had been taken from the archive when she returned, she could only hope that, by that point, everything would be rectified and she'd have a decent excuse at her disposal.

The device was in no way spectacular to look at – it was just a bronze coloured sphere with three buttons protruding from the surface – but Alex knew what it would mean for Brainy. What it would mean for their continued investigation and the protection of this city. No matter how unassuming the sphere was, right now, it was their best chance at saving National City.

“Alright,” Alex said once she’d safely removed the device from its pedestal. “What next?”

Brainy rubbed at his eyes. “We will still need a controlled environment,” he said. “Somewhere that can be safely disconnected from most electronic devices without causing any disruption.”

Alex knew that this had been coming since the beginning. “So, not the DEO.” She sighed. “Brainy, where else can we-”

Brainy, however, cut her off by choosing that exact moment to collapse.

Alex started, nearly dropping the device as she rushed over to his side. Brainy was conscious, _barely._ He knelt, hands resting on the floor, head bowed. His breathing was strained, and Alex could see the tension in his arms as his fingers clenched against the tile. His hair curtained his face, but Alex could see the pain that ran along his jaw. “This _room_ ,” he murmured, a shudder running across his back. “Get me out of it.”

Alex didn’t hesitate. She’d seen this kind of pain in Brainy’s expression once before. Just before the DEO had gone dark. If the virus got into the archive, there was no telling what it could activate and overpower.

Alex got Brainy onto his feet. He was burning up and although in clear pain, Alex managed to get him out of the room. As the layered metal of the door’s security closed behind them, Alex sighed out in relief. Brainy broke from her grip, reaching for the closest wall. He slid to the floor, pressing his face into his hands.

Alex held the bronze sphere in one hand. She stood awkwardly, glancing down the vacant hallway. They’d retrieved what they’d come for, they’d been successful. Right now, though, it didn’t feel that way at all. The pain Brainy had been experiencing didn't look nearly as bad as it had been in the archive, but he still hadn’t moved from the floor.

Alex gave him a moment and then, gently, she took his shoulder. Brainy dragged his hands down his face, glancing up at her. “I cannot stop it, not for much longer,” Brainy said hoarsely. He looked at the device in Alex’s hand. “You need to locate a safe environment to deploy the disruptor.”

Alex’s hand clenched around the sphere. She didn’t like the way Brainy had phrased that. “Me?” she asked, frowning.

Brainy nodded. He was more than exhausted at this point. Even talking seemed to be a strain on him. “Coherent thought is not something that I can easily access at this moment,” he said slowly, eyes scanning lazily in front of him. Alex realised with rising concern that his gaze wasn’t focused on anything at all. “My internal temperature is far too high. I-” He paused, swiping a hand across his face in frustration. “I can’t interact with you and hold the virus back at the same time. Not anymore.” He glanced up at her, his dark eyes were fever-bright. “I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s fine,” Alex squeezed his shoulder. “Do what you have to. I’ll find somewhere. Just… just sit tight, okay?”

Brainy closed his eyes, resting his head against his hands. Alex could hear him murmuring that same language from before under his breath, raspy and quiet as it was. She swallowed, glancing down at the device in her hands.

How in the hell had this gotten so complicated?

 

* * *

 

“Hey, is everything alright?”

Alex had never felt more relieved to hear her sister’s voice.

She was stood just around the corner of the hallway, back pressed against the wall. There wasn’t necessarily a reason for this distance, Alex was pretty sure Brainy was deaf to the world around him right now anyway. It was more out of fear. The medical side of Alex was itching to do whatever she could to help, but the far more logical, Director of the DEO side of her had to remind herself that Brainy wasn’t a human patient. She didn’t know the extent to how his biology differed from humans and she couldn’t rely on what she’d learnt from brief conversations to hold any weight in a situation like this.

She was afraid. Now that Brainy could barely communicate, she wasn’t sure what to do. She should have _known,_ but she was blanking. Badly.

And now Kara was expecting her to say something.

“Remember when you said to tell you if Brainy got worse?” Alex said quickly.

There was a pause over the line. Then Kara said, “What do you need me to do?”

Alex briefly outlined the discussion she’d had with Brainy in the med bay, how it had led to the archive room and the disruptor. She glanced to where he was now, slumped against the wall, locked inside his own mind.

“He’s not got much time. The virus can sense every bit of tech inside this building. It wants out, and if it gets it, it’ll have full control of the DEO. It’s been inside the firewall twice, it knows the ins and outs of the desert base. I don’t know how much it got from there, but if it happens again, we won’t have time to fix it. It’ll be over.” Alex’s breath caught inside her throat. “We need somewhere outside of the DEO. A controlled environment.”

“What about your apartment?” Kara asked. “It’s around the block.”

“That brings us to our second problem,” Alex said, closing her eyes. “Brainy didn’t think of this because of _course_ he wouldn’t, but you’re not looking at him right now, Kara. He’s in bad shape. Really bad shape. Every nerve in my body is telling me that we can’t leave him alone to sort this one out. I’d take him to my apartment in a heartbeat, but I couldn’t stay there with him, not with Haley out of town and this virus still wreaking havoc through the city.”

“J’onn?” Kara asked, then answered her own question. “No, his office needs power for his clients… _oh!_ Here’s a no-brainer, what about Nia?”

“Nia?” Alex asked, frowning. “Nia Nal? No… no, we couldn’t just lump this on her.”

“Think about it,” Kara said, “her apartment is insanely close-by, her roommate is out of town this week _plus_ she wouldn’t even need to lie to her boss about what was happening.”

“Kara…” Alex said in warning. “Nia’s practically a civilian. We can’t expect her to drop everything to help.”

“Of course not, but I think if we asked, she’d want to help. She’s a hero-in-training, Alex, you didn’t see her against the Children of Liberty. Besides, she cares about Brainy and he cares about her as well. I’m not saying we _force_ her to do this, but if she decides that she wants to help, then we can’t deny her that.”

Alex smiled sourly. “I hate it when you give me the whole superhero speech.”

“What can I say? It’s one of my many talents.”

“Okay, now you’re just being cocky.”

Kara snorted. “Just say the word, and I can have Nia on the phone.”

Alex sighed through her teeth. “Oh, for god’s sake- _fine._ Call her. I’ll… try and get Brainy off the floor.”

“Supergirl could fly him?”

Alex looked worriedly over to where Brainy was sat. She swallowed. “Probably not a good idea. I doubt super speed and nausea mix very well. If Nia agrees, I’ll drive him over to her place with the device. Although Supergirl’s help would be very much appreciated getting him the rest of the way.”

Alex could hear the strained smile in Kara’s voice. “Alright. I’ll call you as soon as I can.”

 

* * *

 

Of all the ways Nia had expected her day to go, _this_ was not exactly one of them.

She’d spent the better part of the day at CatCo, trying to get ahead on an article covering the power surges continuing to run rampant throughout the city. Kara had given her some Supergirl details, but there wasn’t much she could use that wasn’t being firmly covered up by the DEO. Every media outlet was currently blasting the same rose-tinted headline that _everything is fine: Supergirl is on the case_! Meanwhile, Nia had to sit at her desk and know the truth.

Things weren’t going well for the DEO, and Supergirl was only able to play a small role in the plan they had to eradicate what equated to a full-blown alien computer virus that _by the way_ had also managed to implant itself inside one of their best agents for the job.

That phone call had been nearly thirty minutes ago and Nia’s heart was still squeezing painfully inside her chest. Kara had been very specific that this was her choice to make, that if she didn’t have the time or energy to help then she could continue what she was doing at CatCo, Kara and Alex would handle things with Brainy.

But the second Kara had said it, had explained what had happened, sitting at a desk with nothing but lies to compliment the others being spewed out by the media didn’t seem like the right call. If Brainy was sick, if he needed help, Nia couldn’t say no. She didn’t even consider it as an option. The only thing she’d asked was:

“What about James?”

“Relax,” Kara had said, “I’ve already told him what’s been happening. If you decide you want to do this, he’ll be more than accommodating.”

“Well, of course I want to do this,” Nia had returned, trying her best not to raise her voice. “I-I just, can you explain what that device-thing is again?”

James had agreed to let her go early and she’d promised to prep for her article in the meantime. Not that James had asked her to do that, but Nia always felt bad about having to skip out from work, even if it was for the greater good. She couldn’t help but marvel at the way Kara balanced both her lives as fluidly as she did. Nia felt guilty telling the _truth_ about what she was leaving work for, _lying_ about it would have been downright impossible.

Nia had called Alex just as Kara had asked to let her know to go ahead with the plan. Brainy needed to be moved from the DEO as soon as possible. From what Nia had been able to gather on the phone, something about the dangerous technology in the headquarters was causing the virus to try everything to break out of the prison Brainy had made for it in his head. It was a weird concept to imagine, but if Nia had learnt anything in the last few months, it was that this kind of stuff was her new normal.

She’d done as Alex had instructed, she’d turned off anything with wireless access. No phones, no Wi-Fi, no TV.  Anything electronic she could think of had been unplugged, but Nia still wasn’t sure what might happen when Alex arrived with Brainy.

No phones meant no more phone calls and despite Nia’s predictive dreaming, she still started when there was a knock at the door.

Nia opened the door to greet three very dishevelled people. Kara stood in full Supergirl garb. She had Brainy’s arm slung over her shoulder and seemed to be the only reason he was able to stand upright at all. Alex stood on his other side, she had a small metal orb in her hand; her fingernails clinked against it unthinkingly.

Nia’s mind went blank. Brainy looked awful, his hair was dishevelled, falling across his face. His skin was pale and his eyes were so shadowed that they could have been bruised. If this was the face his inducer was outputting, Nia feared just how sick he really was.

“Oh my god,” Nia said, reaching for Brainy’s shoulder without thinking. He had his eyes closed, but his lips were moving, words she didn’t recognise fled in small, breathy exhales. Nia looked between them both. “How long has he been like this?”

Kara helped Brainy into the apartment, at the same time Alex answered, “Since before I called. He’s… put himself in this state on purpose. The virus would have gotten out otherwise.” Her face was knitted with worry. “I thought he might come out of it when we got outside of the building, but he didn’t.”

Nia shook her head. So many thoughts were whirring through her mind, all she could hear was static between her ears. She gestured to her bedroom. “I’ve set up in there for him, he can take my bed. Way better than the sofa.”

Kara gave her a grateful look. Both of them looked tired, Nia realised. She’d seen Supergirl all over the news since this had started, and she doubted that Alex had had a break since the first security alarms had gone off this morning.

As Kara and Alex helped Brainy onto the bed, Nia simply stood in the doorway, desperately trying to process all of this. She looked at the metal ball in Alex’s hand, frowning. “Is that the device?” she asked.

Alex glanced down at it, almost as though she’d forgotten that it was there. “Yeah,” she said slowly. “I was counting on Brainy explaining how it worked, but I think we’ll just have to figure it out for ourselves.”

“A magnetic field disruptor, right?” Kara asked, reaching her hand out. Alex gave it to her wordlessly. Kara inspected it for a moment, running her fingers over the three small buttons on the outer shell. “Can’t be too hard. Three buttons. So, on, off and, uh, pause?”

Alex blinked at her. “Pause? I thought you might be able to bestow some kind of Kryptonian knowledge on the situation. Didn’t you get a degree in Chemistry at age four?”

Kara scoffed. “That’s not how it works.” She glanced up at Nia. “Seriously, that’s not how it works. It’s just- Chemistry is _really_ primitive in human schools.” She shook her head. “That’s not the point. We had similar devices on Krypton, sure, but they weren’t just push a button and go…” She bit her lip. “ _Should_ we just press a button?”

“If it was difficult, wouldn’t Brainy have told you?” Nia asked. “Or… was he already…?”

“He was lucid enough to explain what it could do,” Alex said, “we just never got to the instruction manual.” She sighed. “Fine, Kara. Press a button. What’s the worst that could happen?”

Nia groaned. “Did you really have to say that?”

“Too late,” Kara said. She pressed a button.

The effect was instant; a sudden bright light encompassed the whole room. It burned to look at directly and Nia covered her eyes, blinking back spots as they tried to form in her vision.

After five long seconds, the light vanished.

“Huh. I think that was the right button.”

Nia glanced back to see Kara, Alex and Brainy surrounded by what appeared to be an orange-tinted energy field. It shimmered where the sunlight caught it, but was otherwise transparent. In all honesty, it kind of looked like a giant bubble. Kara and Alex stared up at it in amazement. At the same moment, Brainy jerked upright.

Alex nearly jumped out of her skin. Kara swore in what Nia suspected was Kryptonian. Nia, however, didn’t say a word. Brainy’s eyes were wide, confused, as he tracked his new surroundings. His hair was all over the place, his breathing was heavy, and Nia was certain that he had no idea what was happening. Eventually, his gaze found Nia’s. An uncomfortable heat flooded her chest, but she didn’t look away. She couldn’t. Brainy needed to know he was in a safe place.

Brainy continued to stare for a further beat before saying, “Nia Nal.”

Nia blinked. “Hi, Brainy.”

Brainy shook his head. “N-no, I, where-?” He held a hand out in front of him, as though trying to pause his own thought process. Eventually, he looked up again. “We… we needed somewhere away from the DEO. Alex spoke with you. That was… smart.”

“Smart?” Alex asked. “I’m sat right here.”

Brainy turned to her, only then seeming to realise that both she and Kara were staring at him as though he’d just risen from the dead.

“Apologies,” Brainy said, lowering his head. He reached for his ring finger, fiddling with it like it was his only lifeline. “I’m… a little…” He shook his head again. “Words,” he muttered, frowning absently at the bed sheets.

“Hey, it’s alright,” Alex said smoothly. “Take a minute.”

Brainy laughed harshly. “I don’t have a-” He paused again, glancing above himself. “The disruptor?” he asked.

Nia felt flummoxed with every new direction this conversation was taking.

“I switched it on,” Kara said. She lifted the device towards Brainy, pointing out the button she’d used. “I’m guessing this was the on switch?”

Brainy made a sound of vague frustration, lifting a hand to his head. “Yes _and_ no.”

Kara frowned. “What do you mean?”

Brainy was struggling, Nia could tell. He’d never had a problem getting his point across before, not like this. Alex had said something over the phone, about how Brainy had to move certain information out of the way to keep the virus from prying. It was why it had taken them so long to find the disruptor in the first place. It couldn’t be easy, running so much behind the scenes.

Nia knew what she needed to do.

“Hang on,” she said. She walked directly through the bubble, half expecting to feel a drastic change in the environment. There was a vague sense of static energy, but otherwise things seemed pretty accommodating inside the bubble. She passed through to the other side, opening her chest of drawers. She grabbed one of her old notepads and the first pen she could find. She tested it against the paper before sitting back down on the bed.

She could feel Alex and Kara watching her, but she didn’t pay them much mind. Her focus was on Brainy, on how clear his distress was showing in his body language. He was frustrated, yes, but he was also terrified. Nia suspected that despite all the grandiose stories he’d decided were safe enough to share about his time with the Legion, nothing like this had ever happened to him before.

Nia handed him the notepad. “If you can’t figure out the words, just write them down, okay? Sometimes it’s easier to visualise stuff that way.”

Brainy’s eyes locked with hers again. They were so… open, so unguarded. Nia swallowed awkwardly. In response, she tried to relay her own intentions with her eyes. She kept the notepad extended out to him until, eventually, Brainy took it. His hand was shaking slightly, and the darkness beneath his eyes spoke an eternity’s worth of exhaustion. Still, he pressed the pen to the pad and scrawled out a few lines experimentally.

After a while, he became more confident. Nia watched Brainy draw out a diagram, one that looked identical to that of the disruptor still in Kara’s hands.

Which reminded her, Kara and Alex were still there, and they were both trying very hard to pretend they weren’t watching the way that Nia was very clearly staring at Brainy. She suddenly felt far too exposed, and leant back a little where she was sat, glancing elsewhere as Brainy continued to draw.

Finally, he ripped the sheet from the pad, handing it to Nia without pause. Nia stared at it.

“The disruptor,” Brainy said slowly. He was finding his words again, although he still seemed to be having difficulty with putting them together. “It’s not… it is not quite as simple as _on_ and _off._ ” He made a small gesture with his hands. “It’s more complicated.” He looked to Kara. “May I?”

Kara nodded. “Yeah, o-of course.” She handed it over.

Brainy fiddled with the buttons, staring upwards at the bubble above him. Nia looked at the sheet of paper, then at the sequence that Brainy pushed into the device. She realised belatedly that she’d been given a cheat sheet - all the information she needed to master the device’s various settings.

The field darkened for a moment and a pressure descended on the bubble, causing Nia’s ears to ring. After a few moments, the feeling passed, and the bubble returned to normal. Brainy took a shaky sigh of relief. He pressed a hand against his head, taking in slow, practiced breaths. The sphere fell from his grip, landing with a soft _thunk_ on the bedspread.

“Uh,” Alex said. “What just happened?”

Nia held the paper up for her friends to see. “I guess we were only half right. Different button sequences have different settings.” She glanced up at the bubble around them, at the way it seemed almost malleable to the touch – if, of course, it had been possible to touch it. “Am I right?” she asked Brainy.

Brainy’s eyes were closed, but he nodded weakly, fingers curling into his hair. “The device is able to disrupt various frequencies. To match the power of the virus would mean ensuring it is outputting at its most powerful.” He opened his eyes, almost experimentally. They didn’t focus on anyone in the room. “Cell phones won’t work in the field, nor will most electronic devices. The virus is a source of power… it doesn’t _need_ it, rather, it uses it to overload whatever it requires. It can dismantle anything.” He swallowed. “Even me.”

Nia’s stomach sank. “We won’t let that happen,” she said.

“Of course not,” Kara agreed.

Alex worried her lip. “Brainy,” she said softly. “How much time do you think you’ll need to find a way to shut this thing down?”

Brainy didn’t look up. “With no disruptions, hopefully, no more than eight hours.” His free hand curled against the sheets. “Whether my shut down code for the weaker virus branches will _hold_ in that time is… hard to say…”

“Don’t think about that,” Nia said. She reached out, grabbing his arm reassuringly. She hadn’t realised up until then just how warm he was. Nia shot a worried glance in Alex’s direction. Alex pursed her lips, nodding minutely.

Brainy glanced to Nia’s hand. “It is… hard not to,” he said softly, before his eyes seemed to focus again. “But, I will do my utmost to focus on the task at hand.”

“You’re running a very high fever,” Alex said in warning. “I’m not sure what’s normal for Coluans, but Brainy, for human standards-”

Brainy waved her off. “That’s manageable,” he said dismissively. He brought his hands together. “I am more concerned about how I might study the virus’ code in the most optimum fashion.”

Kara and Alex shared an exhausted look between them. Nia could relate; Brainy was very good at focusing on anything other than his own wellbeing. It was a very typical hero quirk, Nia knew, to not care for your own safety if it meant protecting the people. Even still, seeing Brainy like this, knowing that he was only going to make himself _worse…_ it was hard to keep quiet about it.

“Well,” Nia said, breaking the uneasy silence that had settled in the room. “I’m gonna stay right here with you, okay? No one’s getting _dismantled_ on my watch.”

 

* * *

 

As Brainy settled in his new environment, Kara and Alex prepared to get back to work. Nia stood with them by the front door, a safe distance out of ear shot from Brainy.

“Thank you for doing this,” Kara said softly. “We didn’t want him to be alone.”

“God no,” Alex said, shaking her head. “He’s putting on a brave face in there, but back at the DEO it was…” She suppressed a shudder. “It was scary. For a second I… I thought the worst.”

The pit in Nia’s stomach was only caving in further. “He’ll be fine,” she said, trying to sound as certain as possible.

Alex offered her a wan smile. “If you need anything, you should be safe to call us outside of the apartment. Try to keep his temperature down.” Alex folded her arms, glancing worriedly towards the bedroom door. “I don’t want to concern you, but when a human runs a fever this high, auditory and visual hallucinations can present themselves. It's likely the same goes for Coluans. The disruptor looks like it’s really helping, so it’s important he stays inside of it, no matter what.”

Nia nodded. “Of course.” Her body was practically buzzing with the adrenaline in her system.

Kara bumped Nia’s shoulder. “I’ll do a couple of fly-bys when I’m able. If you need soup or anything, I’m your gal.”

Nia couldn’t help but smile at that. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Just don’t ask her to make it,” Alex said.

“Hey!” Kara shot her a look of fake affront. “You told me you liked my soup!”

“I was _feverish,_ ” Alex said. “I would have told you a dirty sock tasted good!”

Nia laughed, covering her mouth to keep from disturbing Brainy.

Alex rolled her eyes, ignoring Kara as she continued to pout. “Anyway, we’ll see you later. And don’t worry,” she smiled reassuringly, “Brainy’s tough. He’ll figure out the virus and, next time I see you, hopefully it will be under far less stressful circumstances.”

Nia gave her a thumbs up. “Here’s hoping.”

They hugged before Kara and Alex left, wishing Nia luck with strained enthusiasm.

Once she was alone, Nia folded her arms, hugging her body close. The adrenaline was slowly fizzling itself out, leaving her with a sense of dread at the pit of her stomach and not much energy to go on. That didn’t matter. She had to focus. After all, for the next eight hours, she had a job to do.

“Better get to it,” she said to herself.

 

* * *

 

Nia pushed the door to her room open a few minutes later, a glass of water held in one hand. She was only partly surprised to find that Brainy was still sat upright, cross-legged on the bed. His head was bowed slightly and his hands were linked together in his lap. It looked like he was in some kind of meditative state.

Nia had seen Brainy do similar things to access technology before, but never like this. She cleared her throat.

Brainy’s eyes opened slowly. He glanced upwards. “Ah,” he said. “Nia Nal. You’re still here.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Of course I am. I told you I wasn’t going anywhere.”

Brainy frowned. “Yes. You did. I just… hadn’t expected it.”

That was odd in itself, especially considering Brainy’s practically preternatural skills with probability. Nia swallowed awkwardly, taking a tentative step inside the bubble. Just as before, she felt a slight pop of static, but other than that, it felt just like anywhere else in the room. Of course, for Brainy, that was a whole other story.

“I brought you some water,” she said, gesturing to the cup as though it wasn’t already obvious. “Alex said you threw up back at the DEO and I know it’s important to keep drinking fluids if you’re… well, you know.” She drew off, pursing her lips. “How do you feel now?”

Brainy considered for a moment. “Not as bad as before, I suppose.” He closed his eyes again. “However, with the disruptor running, I should really focus on my prime objective.”

 “Right,” Nia said, sitting on the bed. “But you should drink this first.”

Brainy opened one eye, raising his chin. “Something tells me that was less of an advisory statement and more of a demand.”

Nia shrugged. “Take it how you want. But I won’t stop bothering you until you drink the water.”

“Even with the city at stake?”

Nia grinned. She held the water out.

Brainy sighed, taking the glass. “Thank you,” he said. “I appreciate that you are taking time out of your work to be here. If you need to leave for any reason, I will understand-”

Nia rolled her eyes. “Shut up and drink the water.”

Brainy took a few small sips, almost experimenting with how it might feel to have something in his system. Nia waited until Brainy had drained half the glass before she was satisfied. She took it from his hands, placing it on the nightstand.

“Are you happy now?” Brainy asked her with just a hint of sarcasm.

Nia smirked. “Yup.” She crossed her own legs, studying Brainy closer. Since the bubble had gone up, he didn’t look as pale, and the pain that had been practically etched into his expression had lessened as well. He still looked tired, though, and from this close, Nia could feel the heat coming from him. His fever still hadn’t broken.

Brainy frowned. “What?”

“It’s just…” Nia said slowly. “What’s it like? Having a computer virus inside of you?”

Brainy regarded her for a moment. “Uncomfortable.”

“Is it really a virus? Because Alex said it was a parasite, or something.”

Brainy shrugged. “They are both accurate descriptions. The virus is an alien parasite, but its body is an entity that exists on an electronic level. To my understanding, it feeds from power, but its body is almost entirely comprised of it as well. Incredible power - nestled within its code. It destroys not as a means of survival, but almost as though that is its only desire.” Brainy went quiet for a moment, his gaze tracking listlessly in front of him. “Having studied it for several hours now, I find myself in both fear and awe of it. If I were to let it out, I would be certain that it would overpower the first thing it found, simply because that is all it wants.”

Nia sucked in a breath. That answer had been more loaded than she’d anticipated. She clenched her hands, gathering the sheets between her fingers. “That’s… interesting.”

“Indeed,” Brainy said, but his gaze was still elsewhere.

Nia drew her legs up, resting her chin against her knees. “So, what does the disruptor do?”

Brainy blinked, glancing towards her. “You have a lot of questions.”

Nia shrugged. “Alex only filled me in on the smaller details. Mostly because she didn’t even know half of what was happening. She said the disruptor stops the virus from getting out, which I guess makes sense. But it’s still _inside_ you, right?”

“Yes, unfortunately,” Brainy said. His lips twisted into a rough smile. “I cannot say it is pleasant, but the disruptor interferes with the virus’ frequency. As it cannot detect electronic signals inside the disruption field, it slips into a far more docile state. It is this state that allows me the time and energy to study it in enough detail to stop it.” He gave her a meaningful look. “Which I cannot do if I focus my attention on answering your questions.”

“Oh.” Nia felt her face warm up. “Right. Sorry.”

Brainy shook his head. He winced, reaching for his forehead. His fingers stopped just shy from his face, and he made a small gesture, almost like he was righting a wrong inside of his own head. “It is I who should apologise. I… don’t want to come off as ungrateful for your assistance. The virus makes it hard to concentrate, even when it is lying dormant. This time is precious, if I do not act now… then I cannot hope to beat it.”

“I understand,” Nia said solemnly. “Is that what you were doing before? With the meditation?”

“Medi-oh, yes, that.” Brainy frowned briefly. “I would not call it that. But yes, that was what I was doing.”

“Do you get any… rest out of it?”

Brainy’s smile was sharp. “Ah, now you sound like Alex.”

“She’s right, then,” Nia said. “You’re exhausted.”

“I can sleep when this is over with,” Brainy said. “Not a moment sooner.”

Nia pursed her lips. “Can I stay here next to you? Or-or would that distract you?”

Brainy’s gaze softened. “I see no reason why you couldn’t. Stay, that is. Uh, I would like you to stay.” He paused. “ _Would_ you like to stay?”

Nia’s chest blossomed with heat. She chuckled. “Yes, I’d like to stay.”

“Then. Yes.” He nodded once, straightening a little so that he could return to his initial position. “Please don’t be concerned if I do not respond to you. Things are a little… _cluttered_ in my mind right now. It requires concentration to sift through it.”

Nia rolled her eyes. “You told Alex eight hours.”

“I did.”

“You’re taking snack breaks. Water breaks at, like, the bare minimum.”

Brainy nearly smiled. “That sounds fair.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so it's 2am for me so ~technically~ it's Saturday and not Friday but I just got back from Endgame so honestly you're all lucky I'm posting anything at all. I won't say anything about the film, but personally I thought it was a real wild ride. Definitely worth the watch.
> 
> Anyway, back to DC and fic-related talk. This chapter is a little shorter than the others, but I hope you shall enjoy it nonetheless! Thank you all for your continued support. Kudos and comments mean the world to me and it's just lovely knowing you guys are liking the story so far!! :)

The concept of the mind was not one that could be formulated with words, and with the state that Brainy had put himself in, there was no use explaining it anyway. Slipping in and out of his neural network was no easy feat, but he did so because Nia had asked him to. Brainy required water, that was true, but food was not a subject he really wanted to consider. Despite the disruption field dampening the virus’ potency, Brainy still felt weak, tired and vaguely nauseous. At least in the recesses of his mind, he could ignore all of that. Virtual consciousness was a far less strenuous act of being than was the physical realm.

However, nothing could last forever. As he began to surface, a tickle caught in Brainy’s throat, catching him off guard. He was forced from the fabrications of his mind as he coughed, throwing a hand up in front of his mouth instinctively.  

Nia was by his side in an instant. Her hand slid across his back, rubbing supportive circles as he tried desperately to catch his breath. Her hand was cool against his skin, but somehow that gesture still sent a warmth to his core. It was unexpected, but not unwarranted, and he felt himself lean towards that gesture more than he rightly should have.

Once the coughing fit had subsided, Brainy heard a clink of glass. When he opened his eyes, a cup of water was being presented to him.

Brainy took it, taking a few drawn sips. The water felt good on his throat. It felt like he hadn’t had anything to drink in days. Come to think it, he was nearly certain the last time he’d shifted from his neural network, the sun had still been out. Now the room was bathed in darkness, a few candles littered the bedside tables and nearby cabinets. Nia had taken the right precautions to keep electrical interference to a minimum. He was incredibly grateful for that.

“The coughing’s new,” Nia noted. Her voice wavered slightly, something Brainy had come to understand as worry when tinged in her speech.

“It’s nothing,” Brainy said, shrugging. “Dry throat.” He straightened slightly, handing the glass back to her. “How long have I been-?”

Nia sighed. “Three hours. Longer than I should have let you. You were focused though, I thought that was a good thing.” She quirked a brow. “Any good news?”

Brainy closed his eyes, running a hand across his face. He paused, frowning when his hand came back wet.

Nia spotted his confusion immediately. “Your fever broke I think about ten minutes ago?” She lifted a finger, ducking over the side of the bed. She popped back up with a small purple towel in tow.

Brainy took it gratefully, dabbing at his face. Now he was connecting more with his physical self, he began to notice the way that his shirt was sticking uncomfortably to his body. His temperature was still incorrect, but the added moisture on his skin sent a chill up his spine. In turn, that only made the aches in his body more prominent. 

He was not a fan of this illness at all.

“I’ve studied the virus’ structure intimately,” Brainy said, glancing towards Nia. “It is an intelligent creature, but to exist as a metaphysical entity, it must integrate using its coded language. The language it uses for it’s main body is more complex, but I have almost ciphered it in its entirety. Once I have completed that, it’s simply a matter of devising the correct countermeasure.”

“In five hours?” Nia said with a small smile.

Brainy looked at the towel in his hands. It was blurred around the edges, but of course that had nothing to do with the item itself and everything to do with his perception of it. He was testing his body’s limits - he was much too aware of that. There was only so much he would be able to take before…

He couldn’t think about that. Not when he was this close.

“Yes,” he said, trying to sound confident despite the pounding in his head. “I have no doubt of that.”

 

* * *

 

Nia helped Brainy into a fresh t-shirt. She’d tried not to look out of respect for his boundaries, but when it was clear Brainy was too tired to manage on his own, she took matters into her own hands.

Alex had offered to bring some spare stuff from the DEO if Brainy needed to change, but Nia had tactfully dissuaded her. She didn’t necessarily want to come right out and say she already had spares in her apartment from when Brainy had stayed over in the past - not that there had been anything _romantic_ about it. People could sleep over and it didn’t have to be weird, but telling Alex that probably wouldn’t have helped her case. Nia could already imagine the knowing looks Alex and Kara might have shared over that particular piece of information.

Brainy was still warm to the touch; although his fever had broken, it was well on its way to ramping up all over again. He’d already reverted to his meditative state, but where before he’d been able to support himself in an upright position, he was now sat with his back against the headboard. His head was bowed, his dark hair fell limply across his face. Nia sighed, running her fingers across his forehead, swiping back the stray locks. With her other hand, she carefully mopped away the sweat beading up on his face.

He looked so tired. There was a tension that ran under his jaw, down across his shoulders, that proved he was in clear discomfort. Nia wondered whether he was aware of that while he worked, or whether he only started to feel it in the brief moments she roused him to keep him hydrated.

There wasn’t much to do in a dim apartment with no WiFi. Nia settled for reading a book, something with an easy plot that didn’t require too much thinking. She leant back against the headboard, aware without seeing Brainy’s presence just a few inches from her side. Heat radiated from him like a lamp, and there was a vague scent of salt in the air from his broken fever, but Nia didn’t mind that. Knowing he was there by her side was all she needed to settle.

 

* * *

 

“This is insane.”

Kara stared uncomprehendingly at the ground below her. From this distance, she could see four streets that were now completely without power. Beyond the dark, Kara could see blown bulbs still in their fixtures, remnants of shattered glass that littered the streets.

“It’s not in the grid, if that helps,” Alex said over Kara’s comm. “Brainy found a way to scan for the virus’s specific signature before he…” Alex drew off. “Anyway, it’s travelling through the power cables. Looking at it from our standpoint, it’s… strange. It doesn’t move like a computer virus, it moves like it’s a living thing.”

“Yeah,” Kara said. She watched another streetlight flicker as its power surged. “Minus the living.”

“It’s sentient,” Alex reminded her. “These branches, they keep replicating. Any time a piece of code regains itself from Brainy’s disruption sequence, it makes more. They’re all converging on the power lines.”

“ _Why?_ ” Kara asked. She could hear the tell-tale roar of the DEO issued assault vehicles as they made their way to the site. Not like they needed the firepower, but it was the exact kind of image that dissuaded the public from getting in the way. “Surely there’s something much bigger and better for the virus to snack on, right? Why jump from security to a light show?”

“Every time it splits itself up, it gets weaker. Brainy said the virus _is_ power. If it controls electronic energy by overpowering it, then these weaker branches won’t stand a chance up against something like a security system. It’s focusing on smaller victories.”

“Great,” Kara said through her teeth. “Fighting power lines. Exactly what I wanted to do.”

“Just be glad it’s not got the power to set off a nuclear launch right now.” Alex paused, taking a breath. “Hang on…”

“Hang on, _what_ hang on?”

“I’m seeing a pattern here.”

Kara frowned. She was watching the ground team flock from their cars, one of Brainy’s devices was already being set up closest to the powerlines affected. It looked like they had some kind of mobile tracking device with them as well. Small tablets that were being used to mark exactly where the virus was travelling, and exactly where to deploy the disruption sequence to fry the virus’ frequency.

Meanwhile, Alex hadn’t said a word over their comm.

“Alex?” Kara asked. “What’s going on? I can see your team here, they’re setting up to move in on the virus.”

“Sorry. I- I’ve just had the other ground teams confirm my theory. _All_ known branches of the virus are travelling towards those powerlines right now. I think they’re trying to merge.”

Kara wished she could say she was surprised, but if the virus really was capable of thought, then _of course_ that would be its next move. If it couldn’t get what it wanted by scattering, reclaiming its power was the only option available.

But, if it was trying to reclaim _all_ its strength, did that mean…?

A sudden thought occurred to Kara. “Alex,” she said urgently. “Those power lines. I don’t think they’re just some random location the virus picked to merge.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean,” Kara said, “I know this city like the back of my hand, and those power lines are just a few blocks from-”

“Oh my god,” Alex said, the sound of realisation in her voice so poignant that Kara nearly forgot to breathe. “Nia’s apartment.”

 

* * *

 

Nia hadn’t planned on falling asleep; it just _happened._ She’d been curled on her side of the bed, book cradled against her knees, one ear open in case Brainy needed her. Then, with little warning, she was being startled awake with an unsettling notion that something was about to go horribly wrong.

Considering Brainy was no longer in the space next to her, she figured she had a good reason to feel that way.

Nia scrambled from the bed, heart in her throat, scanning the room helplessly for any signs where the Coluan might have gone. Her first thought was the bathroom – he hadn’t been sick since he’d got here, but with the way his symptoms were progressing, it was easy to assume.

But no, the bathroom was empty, so where in the hell would he have-?

Nia found him in the hallway. She was sure she looked a mess – bed head had a whole new meaning when coupled with narcolepsy – but none of that mattered. Not when she saw Brainy sat with his back against the wall, knees drawn up close to his chest. Both hands were fisted against the side of his head, and his body was coiled with barely restrained agony.

But that wasn’t the worst of it. At first, Nia thought she was seeing things, but no, something about Brainy was shifting. His image was intermittent – one moment, she’d be looking at the human visage he presented with his image inducer, the next she would see his real appearance flicker from beneath. His inducer must have been shorting out or something, but Brainy appeared to be none the wiser. All he cared about was the pain in his head.

Nia moved towards Brainy slowly, careful not to startle him. By the time she was by his side, his inducer was well and truly spent. It was odd. Nia had seen Brainy without his inducer plenty of times, she had no qualms against it, of course she didn’t, but with the way he was now, the absence of his inducer’s image made him appear even more vulnerable.

His blue-tinged skin was paler than it should have been, and his stark white hair was damp, falling into his face. And… there was something else. The interface on his forehead – the machinery that connected his biological systems to his computer-half – was glowing a shockingly dark red. That wasn’t normal, not in the slightest, and when comparing that colour to a computer’s language, Nia could only assume it meant some kind of warning.

Brainy shuddered suddenly, curling further in on himself with a groan.

Nia’s eyes widened. She reached for him uncertainly, grabbing onto his shoulder. “Hey,” she said, trying hard to keep her voice from trembling. “Brainy, it’s me, Nia. Can you hear me?”

He didn’t respond to her, only tightening the grip on his head.

The virus must have been doing something inside of him, but Nia couldn’t imagine what that was. He was outside of the bubble’s interference, but even still, if it was trying to get out… there was nothing for it wreak havoc inside. Nia had unplugged the router and switched off her phone. Anything with internet access was inaccessible. What did the virus think it was gaining?

It hurt to see Brainy struggling like this. Nia desperately wanted to ask him what she could do, but it was clear nothing was getting through to him right now.

She had to get him back to the disruptor. Why he’d wandered out here in the first place was beyond her, but if Nia knew one thing, it was that the disruptor had been working. Brainy’s cheat sheet was still on her nightstand. Nia had read over it a few times, enough to know a couple of sequences that could be used for temporary boosts in the devices’ output.

That was it, then. That was all she could do to help.

Nia squeezed Brainy’s shoulder. “I know you’re hurting,” she said carefully, “but I can help make it stop, okay? You just have to come with me.”

Considering Brainy hadn’t responded to anything thus far, Nia was already prepared to drag him from the floor herself. Instead, Brainy’s fingers uncurled slightly, and he raised his head. “Nia?” he asked weakly. “What are you- _where_ am…” He shook his head, eyes fluttering with exhaustion. “It hurts.”

Nia’s heart squeezed inside her chest. “I know,” she said, running her free hand along Brainy’s chin. He was painfully warm to the touch, but that didn’t deter her. “The magnetic field disruptor is in my bedroom, remember? If we go back, we can take some of the pain away.” She squeezed again. “How does that sound?”

Brainy made a small sound at the back of his throat. He bowed his head, white locks slipping forward. “Hurry,” he said, swallowing thickly. “I can’t… I can’t _stop_ it.”

A low hum emanated somewhere above her head; the lights weren’t even switched on, but the fuses were still intact. If the virus was as strong as Alex had warned her… jumping into them would be a cake walk. Nia hadn’t thought of that, she’d only worried about the virus trying to jump into bigger and brighter things, like a phone or router.

Brainy groaned again and, at the same time, something exploded in the kitchen.

“What the hell,” Nia said, staring up with wide eyes. Without letting go of Brainy, she looked across to the kitchen counter. Her mouth nearly fell open when she saw the toaster smoking and sparking from the corner.

“Crap!” Nia stood, running over to the toaster to evaluate the situation. She snatched the plug right from the wall, cutting out any electrical interference. The toaster still sparked, but no fire had started. Just the bitter smell of burnt crumbs.

She hadn’t even thought about the toaster, or the oven or, or, _the fridge._ All electrical appliances, all things that the virus could overpower. Nia hastily set about turning everything off within reaching distance. She was so glad Yvette wouldn’t be back until next week. She could only imagine what this would have looked like from an outsider’s perspective.

Brainy had his head pressed back against the wall, watching the scene unfold with half-focused eyes. A vicious shudder ran through him. “I’m sorry,” he murmured. “I couldn’t…”

“It’s fine,” Nia said, turning back as soon as she was finished. “We need to get you back to my room, okay? Do you think you can stand?”

Brainy blinked at her. “Would you like an… _honest_ answer?”

Nia nearly smiled at that. “It’s okay. We’ll do it together, alright?”

Brainy nodded, stiffening as another shockwave of pain rolled through him.

 

* * *

 

Getting Brainy back to bed was by no means an easy feat, but Nia managed. The second they passed through the barely visible field of the disruptor’s protection, Nia had hoped for some kind of reaction from Brainy. Instead, he barely seemed to notice.

They both fell against the bed awkwardly. Brainy slumped to the side, unable to keep himself upright without Nia’s help. His eyes were closed, but his expression was drawn, knitted with pain. Nia grabbed for the disruptor, reviewing the cheat sheet she’d left beneath it.

Brainy had circled the words SHORT-TERM BOOST, followed by EMERGENCY ONLY which was underlined three times. Nia looked to Brainy now, the way he was curled in on himself, image inducer completely shorted out, interface glowing as red as blood.

If this wasn’t a clear emergency, Nia really didn’t know what was.

She pressed the buttons in the sequence that had been written, hoping that Brainy had been lucid enough to get it right when he’d jotted it down. Nia followed the picture precisely, glancing upwards as she pressed the last nodule in the sequence.

The field darkened. The room was already dim, but for a moment not even the candlelight penetrated. For a stiff few moments, all Nia could see around her was an intense orange glow. The air felt thicker inside the bubble, alive with an energy that was hard to describe. Nia had never suffered from claustrophobia, but in the few minutes she was trapped there, a panic rose in her chest unlike anything she’d ever felt, threatening to suffocate her.

Brainy made a small sound, barely a whimper, but Nia heard it. As the orange glow settled back to its original state, Nia reached out for him, shuffling on the bed so that she was knelt by his side.

“Brainy?” she murmured. “I’m here. It’s okay.”

Brainy’s eyes fluttered, but there was no sense of consciousness behind them. Nia could feel the heat radiating from him, could smell the scent of sickness in the air. Despite the disruptor’s boost, he wasn’t even close to looking any better.

Brainy’s lips parted. He said something, under his breath, in a language Nia didn’t recognise. Then his fingers curled into fists. He opened his eyes and for a moment, Nia thought she had him back.

He stared at her with dark eyes dazed with fever. Then he said, “Nura.”

Nia’s heart plummeted.

“No,” she said softly. “No, Brainy. It’s Nia.” She pursed her lips. What could she even s _ay_ to that? “Nura’s… Nura’s not here.”

She still didn’t know exactly who Nura was, only that Brainy had known her in the future… and that she was one of Nia’s descendants. She was another part of his past that was firmly locked behind an impenetrable barrier. One with the damning warning that any utterance of it could break the space-time continuum.

Nia suspected that wasn’t the full truth, but she trusted that when the time came, Brainy would open up to her.

Not now, though. Not when he was this sick. This was just… wrong. He was feverish and confused and if he slipped up and told her anything now… he would never forgive himself.

Nia sighed, running a hand through his damp white hair. Even his scalp felt warm. If she couldn’t get a handle on his fever, none of this would stop. If he wasn’t lucid enough to finish the code to stop the virus, he wouldn’t have a chance to get better.

Nia took the comforter from the end of the bed and tucked it over Brainy. Once he was as settled as he could be, she rushed to the bathroom, grabbing a cloth and soaking it with cold water. She took a bucket of water with her into the bedroom, wringing the cloth out over it before brushing it gently across Brainy’s face. She didn’t dare touch his interface with it. She had this horrible image of it short-circuiting – despite how crazy that probably sounded.

Brainy shuddered beneath the touch of the cloth, folding his arms across his chest as he curled in on his side.

Nia’s eyes tracked over him softly. He looked so young like this, so vulnerable. All she wanted to do was wrap him in her arms and never let go. She couldn’t afford to do that right now. Instead, she continued with the cloth, running it across his neck, letting beads of cold water dribble across his pale blue skin.

Nia lost track of how long she spent watching over Brainy, waiting for anything to give in his condition. Whether he was sleeping or not, Nia couldn’t tell, but every so often he would murmur something in that alien language she didn’t understand, or jerk in his sleep as though he had been attacked. It hurt to look at, but Nia couldn’t let him go through this alone. She wouldn’t. She just kept rewetting the cloth when it dried out, doing her very best to monitor his fever.

Sometimes she did recognise the things he said. He would slip between languages, but every so often he would mutter something in English. Ghosts of conversations long-since forgotten, edges of dreams barely explored.

At one point, Brainy shifted, taking a fistful of the comforter towards his chin. His expression narrowed into something close to anger.

“I don’t have to prove anything to you,” he said through his teeth, clenching the material between his fingers. “I… I’m not _like_ them.”

Nia’s heart clenched inside her chest. She drew her hand across Brainy’s side, rubbing softly as he struggled between his past and present. Brainy had once shared with her a few ‘safe’ pieces of knowledge about his past. She knew he’d struggled to find a place for himself, that he’d been overshadowed by his family’s notorious exploits, pushed towards a path of evil. He’d never let that side of his life claim him, and, in retaliation, he’d become part of the Legion, a source of good.

She also knew that, despite joining the Legion, not everyone had trusted him. She supposed that must have been one relief about coming to the past. It was like having a clean slate, where no one knew what kind of a background you’d come from.

Nia had never held that against Brainy, but hearing that anger in his voice, followed by a tremor of vulnerability as he so vehemently spoke out against it… she wasn’t surprised when her eyes began to sting.

She lay by his side, trying her best to tether him with her proximity.

Eventually, he choked out a sob. His eyes scrunched together in feverish delirium, and he clenched a hand into the fabric of his shirt, just over his chest.

“ _I’m sorry,_ ” he murmured, his voice close to breaking.

Nia was at a loss where context was concerned. She didn’t know who he was apologising to, why it was hurting him so much. Tears tracked down his face, almost immediately mingling with the moisture of sweat and cold water.

He was trembling.

Nia didn’t care anymore. She shuffled closer to Brainy, slipping one arm beneath him so that she could roll him into her arms. He was unresponsive, exhausted and burning to the touch, but Nia didn’t care. She held him close, pressing her face into the crook of his neck. Another sob caught in Brainy’s chest, and he ducked his head against Nia’s shoulder.

“Shh,” Nia said softly, running her hand across Brainy’s back. “It’s gonna be okay.”

Whether that was true, Nia had no idea, but she had to remain positive. A few more sobs wracked his body and Nia held him still through it all, murmuring sweet nothings into his ear as he fought with his own mind.

Eventually, Brainy’s breathing began to even; warm beats of breath brushed against her skin as he slipped back into unconsciousness.

Nia closed her eyes, and, without thinking, she pressed her lips against Brainy’s jaw. He tasted of salt, sweat and tears.

She supposed they were all the same thing.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Work was a killer today, I almost didn't get a chance to post this! I did, however, catch last night's episode and just, wow. That episode had everything. I felt so fulfilled. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy this chapter, things get pretty wild from here on out so... have fun with that.
> 
> Kudos and comments make my day, thanks for everyone who checks in to give this story a go!

Consciousness came to Brainy none too gently. Everything attacked his senses at once; the world was too sharp, too loud, and all he wanted to do was close his eyes and ignore everything in favour of the darkness.

But then he remembered.

He stiffened, realising rather belatedly that he was no longer lying on a pillow, but against something warm and incredibly secure. A sweet scent permeated the air where his face was tucked. Dark hair that was not his own tickled his nose.

He was wrapped in Nia’s arms.

He… wasn’t sure what to think about that.

Brainy blinked rapidly, trying desperately to fight against the sluggishness in his body that was adamantly trying to pull him back under. His struggle must have alerted Nia, because she shifted, her arms loosening from his back.

Brainy took that opportunity to sit up.

Which was a mistake.

The world spun nauseatingly quickly, and Brainy swallowed sharply to avoid a very inconvenient expulsion of his stomach contents. He cradled his chest carefully, closing his eyes to keep everything in place.

He could feel Nia’s eyes on him, but didn’t think it safe to open his mouth.

“There’s a bucket if you need it,” Nia said softly.

Brainy swallowed again. “That won’t be necessary.”

“You sure?” Nia asked. “’Cuz you’ve gone really pale.”

Brainy’s lips twisted. He shook his head carefully. “I just need a moment.”

“Yeah, okay.” Nia didn’t sound like she believed him. Quite honestly, Brainy didn’t believe himself, either.

As if on cue, the nausea intensified. A pressure climbed up his throat, pressing sharply on the back of his teeth. Brainy groaned, ducking his head.

Nia was incredibly fast. The bucket was pushed beneath him just as he grabbed for it. He gagged once before the water he’d ingested resurfaced. Brainy kept his eyes firmly shut, riding out the nausea until his body had expelled everything of substance.

Fortunately, it was over quickly, which left him only tired, aching and frustrated. Brainy had hoped to avoid any more instances such as this. The virus may have been eating away at him, but throwing up was a time consuming act that he simply didn’t have time for.

He glanced away from the bucket, swiping the back of his hand over his mouth. He grimaced. “How long was I unconscious?”

Nia stared at him in disbelief. “Brainy, you just threw up, take a second.”

Brainy shook his head. “Nia, how much time did I lose?”

He could feel Nia’s grip on his shoulder. He hadn’t realised it before, but she’d been rubbing his back the entire time. Her hand remained now, leaving a warmth behind wherever her touch lingered. A shudder ran down his spine, but it had nothing to do with his fever.

Nia pursed her lips, removing her hand so that she could lift the bucket off the bed. “About an hour.”

Brainy groaned, curling his hands together. “No. No, no, _no._ I cannot afford to have lost an-” He paused, breathing sharply. “How did this _happen?_ ”

“You don’t remember?”

Brainy stared at her in confusion. “What is there to remember? I was unconscious.”

Something clouded in Nia’s eyes, a troubled expression that he’d never seen before. Maybe it was because he was tired, or sick, or feverish, or the multitude of other discomforts that were currently plaguing his body, but without thinking, Brainy reached for Nia, brushing his hand across her face.

“What is it?” he asked quietly.

Nia didn’t jerk away from his touch. If he’d had access to his usual processes, he would have considered it as a 40% probability. Instead, Nia leant forward, placing her hand over his. She squeezed gently, and that small gesture sent a new and entirely confounding swirl of heat through Brainy’s chest. He swallowed uneasily. His stomach appeared to be twisting due to something completely unrelated to his nausea.

He frowned suddenly, realising for the first time in this dim setting that his skin tone no longer presented that of his image inducer. He withdrew his hand numbly, flexing his fingers in front of his face. He glanced up at Nia unsurely.

Nia’s eyes lit up with understanding. That expression alone was gratifying – Brainy hadn’t realised just how much he needed her recognition right now.

She sighed, shifting on the bed. “Your fever spiked and I think you were hallucinating or something, but you wandered into the hallway.” She shrugged. “Your inducer shorted out. I’m guessing because of the virus?”

Brainy touched the small metal protrusion on the side of his face. He hardly felt a connection to it at all. “The only reason the disruptor did not affect my inducer was because it was connected to my cybernetic network.” Brainy frowned. It was getting so hard to think straight, but even he knew the bad omen that was presenting itself in the form of his broken inducer. If it had shorted out, he had lost yet another connection within his system. If the virus had begun to creep from its confines in his absence… if it had started to shut down key parts of his internal enhancements…

“Brainy?” Nia asked unsurely. “What do you mean?”

Brainy looked up at her. He had no energy left to lie, to abstain from certain aspects of the truth in any way. He had precious time left to correct all of this, to finish his final calculations and deploy the code that could nullify the virus permanently.

“If my inducer cannot connect to my cybernetic mainframe, it means that key parts of my computer side are beginning to shut down.” He swallowed thickly. “In short, the virus is winning.”

Nia glanced upwards. “The lights on your forehead… they’re red. Is that why…?”

“My-?” Brainy brought his hand towards his interface instinctively. He made a sound at the back of his throat. That would explain the dull ache that had settled at the forefront of his skull. Without his interface, he would no longer be able to connect to electronic devices outside of his own head. The only thing that could reach out now would be the virus. To Nia, he simply said, “Yes. That is exactly why.”

“No.” Nia’s voice was so firm that Brainy actually believed her conviction. “There’s no way I’m letting it win.”

Brainy smiled exhaustedly. “I am afraid there is little you could do to stop it. Or anyone for that matter.” It was true, after all. If the virus had the intelligence and power to dismantle a living being with cybernetic implants dated a thousand years in the future, there was truly nothing from this period that could stop it. Shy of opening a rift in spacetime, the only thing that would stop the virus was Brainy’s wavering intelligence.

Brainy closed his eyes. He knew what he would have to do, there were no other options left.

“Nia,” Brainy said softly. “I have lost a substantial amount of time to this virus and… my thought processes have been slowed down significantly. There is one way to ensure I have the right frame of mind to construct the code that can stop this creature permanently.” He looked at her gravely. “You will not like it.”

Nia’s expression hardened. “Tell me.”

“I have to shut down.”

Nia gaped. “Wait, w _hat?_ ” She grabbed his arms. “Isn’t that exactly what you wanted to avoid?”

Brainy couldn’t answer for a moment. Nia’s grip on him was tight, intense – justifiably so. He sighed. “You misunderstand,” he said. “I will not be shutting down the entirety of my systems, but I will need to put myself in a state of complete and total unconsciousness.” He frowned, trying to grasp for the right words. “There _is_ no clear way to explain this to a fully biological being. I suppose you would call it a coma. Brain activity would function, but I would not be able to interact with the outside world at all.”

Nia was still holding onto him. “Brainy… that doesn’t sound safe.”

Brainy laughed grimly. “I believe we passed s _afe_ when an alien lifeform implanted itself inside of my interface.”

“Brainy…”

“There is no other way,” Brainy said. He felt like a broken record. How many times had he used that justification today? How much longer would it hold? “Once I can break down the virus, I can focus on recovery. It won’t be much longer, I can promise you that.”

“Can you?” Nia asked sharply. “Tell me, how exactly do you wake yourself up from a coma?”

“It is not without risk,” Brainy agreed. “But I should be able to set my unconscious state on a timer. I have had to do it a few times in the past and it has almost always worked.”

Nia shook her head. She let out a shaky laugh. “I can’t stop you,” she said simply. “I know this is all you can do. But I want you to promise that you’ll come back to me, okay?”

Brainy frowned. “I thought I already… did?”

Nia rolled her eyes. They were shimmering in the candlelight.

Then, she was hugging him. Hard.

Brainy remained in an upright position, entirely stunned. She’d trapped his shoulders in the hug, and for a moment he wasn’t sure what to do with his arms. Then, Nia softened a little, allowing him movement.

He could have moved away, but that was not something any part of him wanted right now. Physical contact had never been one of Brainy’s strong suits, but he was exhausted. And this was _Nia Nal._ There was no one else he would rather be hugging. And so he put his arms around her in return, resting his chin across her shoulder.

“You _will_ come out of this,” Nia said roughly. Her voice was caught in the fabric of his shirt.

Brainy nodded. He’d told her this would be over soon, and he’d meant it. But he also knew that it was very important to Nia that he was precise with what he was promising. She needed to hear him say it. In a way, he thought he might need it too.

“I promise,” Brainy said softly. He tightened his grip, feeling the tickle of her dark hair against his face. “I promise.”

 

* * *

 

“God, I wish I could use my phone’s alarm right now.”

Brainy’s lips twitched at Nia’s remark. It was a relief to see him smile. Considering how sick he clearly felt, it was a miracle he was able to hold a sense of humour at all. Nia made a point to mark every time she saw it as a small victory on her part.

She shifted on the bed, pursing her lips. “So, three hours?”

Brainy nodded. The red glow of his interface cast unsettling shadows across his face, almost like a warning.

Nia had to stop thinking like that. She’d not had any kind of dream to tell her what the future might hold, what outcome Brainy might have. Her stomach was knotted with stress, but she could ignore all of that. She had to focus on the here and now.

Yeah. The now that was about to send Brainy into a catatonic state.

Why was she letting him do this again?

“I hate this,” Nia said. “I want you to know that.”

“Noted,” Brainy said, raising his gaze.

There was more she wanted to say, _so_ much more, but she didn’t want to distract Brainy with anything that could affect his concentration.

No, she’d just have to wait until he woke up. Because he _would_ wake up.

Brainy lay on his back, folding his arms loosely across his chest. He looked at Nia again, his expression torn. “Don’t be concerned… but I will need to shut down my interface to do this correctly.” He gestured towards his forehead. “The lights will go out, but that only means it will have worked.”

“Right,” Nia said, but she could hear the tremble in her own voice. She bit her lip. “I’ll be here next to you the whole time.”

Brainy took a deep breath. “Thank you,” he said. Then he paused, glancing away for a moment. There was something troubled in his expression, something that Nia immediately recognised. Because she felt it too. “Nia-”

“Don’t,” Nia said quickly. She closed her eyes briefly. “Just. Don’t say whatever it is you were going to say. You can say it in three hours.” She smiled at him. “When you’re feeling better, okay?”

Brainy nodded stiffly. “Okay.”

They sat there for a moment in the quiet. Brainy closed his eyes again, and she could see his expression begin to relax.

“How long does this-” Nia began, only to cut herself off when Brainy’s interface went dark. It took her a moment for her eyes to adjust; she hadn’t realised just how much she’d been using it as a source of light.

Once they had, Nia was able to see Brainy’s sleeping form beneath the flicker of candlelight. He looked… peaceful. If it wasn’t for the steady rise and fall of his chest, Nia would have said he looked _dead._

With nothing left to do but wait, she lay by his side, curling her body so that she could rest her forehead against his arm. He was still warm, but Nia had to hope that when he woke up in three hours, everything would be okay.

Three hours.

She just had to wait for three hours.

Three.

Hours.

 

* * *

 

The last few hours had been a nightmare at the DEO.

Alex had been deploying extra surveillance all over the city in an attempt to cover every possible direction the virus might try to move. The branches of the virus were converging, and Kara had been right, the spot they’d chosen was just too perfect; the powerlines provided a direct path all the way to Nia’s apartment. The virus wanted to join up with the main body.

Alex remembered how Brainy had reacted when he’d taken a stray part of the virus’ code back into his body after the desert base attack. He’d barely been able to hold it together and, afterwards, he’d gotten so much worse so quickly. She couldn’t imagine what would happen if all these branches got back to him somehow. She didn’t w _ant_ to imagine it.

She could only hope that, if all else failed, the disruptor field would be enough to keep anything from getting through.

Kara was still on the scene, running interference where the general public was concerned. Despite the fact that her agents were frying this virus with every mobile device they had available, it was quickly becoming clear that the more they used them, the less affect they had on the virus. The branches were stronger now that they were nearly together, and Alex had her entire ground team working constantly to ensure that they didn’t meet.

Simply put, she was exhausted.

It was dark by the time she left the DEO, but she couldn’t tell when the sun had set. No one was on the streets, so she had to assume it was late. Or early. Honestly, she didn’t care.

She still had her comm and phone in case she was desperately needed, but both devices had been switched off in preparation for where she was going.

Nia didn’t come to the door right away, which led Alex to knock more than was probably reasonable. When the door did open after a very long five minutes, a clearly dishevelled and equally exhausted Nia stood in the entryway. She stared at Alex, taking a moment to assess who was stood in front of her. She closed her eyes. “Hey, Alex, sorry, come in.” She jerked her chin towards the inside of the apartment.

A little of the tension lifted from Alex’s shoulders. Although tired, Nia didn’t appear to be completely out of her league. She could only hope that meant Brainy’s state had remained stable.

She walked inside uncertainly, glancing nervously towards Nia’s bedroom door. “How’s he been?”

Nia’s eyebrows drew together. “Not great. I’ve been sleeping with him.” She froze, shaking her head. “Uh, that came out wrong. I’ve been lying on the bed with him - _next_ to him. _I’ve been keeping him company!”_ She hunched her shoulders, bringing a hand to her face as though to hide her own embarrassment. “Uh, can we start this conversation over?”

A sad smile tugged at Alex’s lips. “That bad, huh?”

“It’s not that,” Nia said. She lowered her voice. “It’s just been… a really rough day.”

Alex folded her arms. “Yeah tell me about it.” She cocked her head to the side. “So, how has he been, really?”

“He broke the toaster.”

Alex nearly choked. “Uh, he what now?”

Nia rubbed a hand over her face, grimacing. “It’s not important. I just- I'm sorry - I’m kind of freaking out a little.”

Alex frowned. “About the toaster?”

Nia shook her head. Alex realised with a sinking sensation that Nia’s eyes were glistening with unshed tears.

Mother hen instinct took over. She took Nia by the arms, guiding her further into the apartment. “Hey, hey, it’s alright. What is it? What happened?”

Nia’s lips twisted. “Uh, it’s better if you see for yourself.”

 

* * *

 

Nia let Alex stand and stare in the bedroom doorway for a few moments before clearing her throat.

Alex blinked, coming out of her daze as she glanced to Nia for clarification. “He’s… sleeping?” she asked.

“Not exactly,” Nia said. She shrugged. “I guess it’s like powering down a computer? He’s okay, but he’s switched off. He can’t hear us, can’t talk to us. And we can’t…” Nia caught herself before her voice wavered. “Um. We can’t wake him up.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, he’s put himself on a timer. He’s supposed to wake up in three hours. It’s been-” Nia looked into the hallway, studying the clock on the wall. “It’s been about two and a half hours now.”

Alex continued to stare. “This is…” She sighed. “Half an hour? And then what?”

Nia rubbed at her eyes. “He said he’d be able to shut the virus down.”

Alex’s shoulders visibly relaxed. Nia gave her a questioning look. “What?”

Alex opened her mouth, then glanced away. She folded her arms. “Nia, I need to tell you something.”

Nia followed Alex back out into the living room. It was oddly surreal, like she was being led on the final march towards death row. As she sat down, Alex looked at her gravely. Nia’s stomach twisted sharply. She suddenly wished she could still be lying with Brainy in the comfort of the dark.

 Alex unloaded the last few hours of DEO drama onto her in a rushed, unfocused monologue. Nia stared, trying to keep from gaping. She nodded when it seemed appropriate, but otherwise, all she could do was try to keep her head from spinning.

“I can’t believe this,” Nia said, threading a hand through her hair. “We’re _this_ close and now this happens?”

Alex pursed her lips. “Nia, there’s a good chance that’s exactly the reason why this is happening. This virus is intelligent, if it knew Brainy was shutting himself down to stop it, then…”

 “Yeah, I get it,” Nia said tightly. “Smart virus.”

Alex drew back, running her hands across her knees. “The good news is the ground team has been keeping it from merging. The virus is getting stronger the longer it’s close to its other branches, but if you’re right and we only have to wait another twenty minutes, then that won’t be a problem for much longer.”

“There could be complications,” Nia said quietly. “It’s all I’ve been thinking about. He was really sick, Alex, he was delirious for, like, an hour and he said some stuff that was…” Nia drew off. She realised that her chest was heaving with panic, her breath was catching in her throat. She was so close to crying that she could taste salt in her mouth.

“Whoa, hey,” Alex said, pulling Nia into a hug.

Nia locked her arms around Alex’s back. She couldn’t lose it, not now. She stared adamantly over Alex’s shoulder, forcing herself to breathe easy.

“I’m sorry,” Nia murmured.

“No,” Alex said. “No, Nia, _I’m_ sorry. I shouldn’t have put you in a situation like this. If there had been any other way-”

Nia shook her head, choking out something between a sob and a laugh. “I’m glad there wasn’t. I want to be here for him, and I _know_ he’d do the same thing for me. It’s just… I’m so afraid. I shouldn’t be. But ever since he shut himself down, I can’t stop thinking the worst.”

“He’ll be fine,” Alex said firmly. She drew away, offering Nia a sincere smile. “If anything happens, you’re not alone, Nia. You have help. You have me, Kara, J’onn, we’re a family now. A package deal.”

Nia smiled, swiping a hand over her eyes. “A super family.”

Alex grinned. “Exactly. We can figure anything out. Together. Do you believe that now?”

Nia nodded. “I think so.”

Alex squeezed her shoulder. “Good.” She glanced at the clock on the wall. “I’ll stay with you until he wakes up, okay? The DEO won’t need me urgently if the virus shuts down. And if anything happens, well, this is where I need to be.”

“Thank you.” Alex deserved so much more than just a _thank you_ , but Nia didn’t know the words to express her gratitude. Her tongue felt thick in her mouth, and all she wanted to do was shove her face into a pillow and cry until all her tears were spent. Instead, she stood, gesturing towards the bedroom. “I’m gonna sit with him.”

Something knowing passed across Alex’s face and her lip twitched slightly. “Of course.”

Nia knew her face was burning when she turned to walk back towards the bedroom, but she didn’t care.

 

* * *

 

Twenty minutes had never passed so slowly. Ever.

Nia couldn’t sit still. She shifted constantly, pacing nervously from one side of the room to the other as Brainy remained unconscious.

 _No, comatose._ It was a horrible word, but Brainy was right. It was the only thing that fit when Nia looked down at him. He was so still, his breathing so precise and mechanical. Despite what he’d said about shutting down a lot of his computer-half, it seemed to be the part of him that was most obvious to her now. It didn’t look comfortable to lie that straight, and she knew that if he’d been in any way conscious, he would have much preferred to be curled on his side. Next to her.

Nia discarded that thought. Thinking like that didn’t help. She didn’t even know where to _start_ with emotions like that. She could still feel traces of the warmth of him when she’d held him in her arms, curled and alarmed and crying for reasons that went far beyond Nia’s understanding. It hadn’t mattered in that moment, though, because being there for him had been enough. Even though he didn’t remember that – might _never_ remember that – Nia would. And it sucked.

Ten minutes became five, and five became a sixty second count down. Nia looked at the clock for reference before kneeling back on the bed, counting in her head down to one.

Alex was stood in the doorway, arms folded, her eyebrows furrowed.

_Five._

_Four._

_Three._

_Two._

_One._

Brainy didn’t stir. The lights on his head remained dark.

Nia sucked in a breath, grabbing Brainy’s shoulders gently. She shook him once, panic rising in her throat.

“Come back to me,” she murmured, shaking him again. His head lolled slightly, but he showed no signs of waking. Nia’s eyes burned and she rubbed at them vehemently with one hand. “No, no, _no._ ” She pressed her face into his chest, choking on a sob. “ _You promised._ ”

“Nia – we can figure this out,” Alex said, her voice was strained. “Brain function means we can reach him. We just have to…” She drew off, taking a sharp breath. “I think I know how we can help him, but I have to make some calls first, okay?”

Nia didn’t look up. She didn’t have the energy. She kept her face buried in Brainy’s shirt, feeling the warmth of him beat against her. She could hear his heart, could feel the steady rise of breath. None of that helped. None of that meant they could get through to him.

“I’ll only be a second,” Alex said quietly. Nia heard the bedroom door close.

She shot up, shaking her head. The first of her tears were beginning to spill. “No,” she said, looking down at him, still and oblivious to everything around him. “Y-you don’t get to do this.” She closed her eyes, holding onto his shirt so tightly that it burned. She tried to channel her dream energy, her connection to her mother, _anything._ She needed her powers right now, she needed a way to figure out how to fix all of this.

She couldn’t connect. A pressure mounted in her head like a physical buffer, pushing her out the more that she tried. She groaned, pitching forward, viciously tearing her fingers through her hair. This should _work._ She’d been practicing, she should be able to access the dreamscape.

She should be able to _get to him._

But was there even a dream to latch onto?

Nia’s lips twisted into a bittersweet grimace. She supposed it was like asking whether a computer dreamt when you turned it off for the night. She didn’t _know_ where Brainy was inside his own head, and if she didn’t know, how in the hell could she reach him?

She could hear the door open again, and Alex stepped through. Nia didn’t look up at her, she couldn’t bring herself to. She was sure she looked like a wreck, but like any of that mattered when Brainy wasn’t waking _up?_

“Nia,” Alex said softly.

Nia rubbed her face, sniffing. “Who did you call?”

Alex was silent for a moment. Nia heard her move closer. The bed creaked where she perched herself against it. “Kara, first of all, to let her know that things are… delayed. But I also called J’onn.”

Nia did look up then. “J’onn?”

Alex smiled sadly. “He’s a telepath, if anyone might be able to get through to Brainy, I figure that he’s our best hope.”

“I already tried,” Nia said weakly. “It’s… it’s not like he’s dreaming. I can’t…”

“J’onn can go further than dreams,” Alex said. “He seemed pretty confident that he could help.”

Nia sighed, pushing her hair away from her face. “Okay,” she said numbly. “I’m gonna… I’m gonna just wash up a bit. Can you-?”

Alex shifted on the bed, nodding. “Of course I’ll stay with him.”

“Thank you.”

 

* * *

 

Nia wet a flannel, dabbing it gently across her eyes. They were still swollen from crying, but at least her face looked fresher for it. She sighed, hanging her head over the sink, mulling over everything that was happening.

Her heart still felt tight in her chest, like any second she might cough it up into the sink. Brainy’s voice echoed in her head repetitively. The same two words over and over.

_I promise._

He couldn’t control it, Nia knew that. There had been so many risks involved for him to do this, but he’d been so sure he could handle it. At least, she thought he had been. Unless he’d gotten that good at lying to her.

She sighed, throwing the flannel into the sink with a wet slap. She didn’t have anything left to do in here, but her mind was going around in circles, and her legs didn’t seem to want to carry her anywhere.

Finally, she pulled herself away from the sink, wandering aimlessly back towards the bedroom. She paused at the door, her fingers tapping against the old wood. She could hear Alex’s voice from inside.

“-don’t think you can hear me,” Alex was saying softly. Nia glanced around the door; she could see the silhouette of Alex in the dim room. She was sat next to Brainy on the bed, one hand running gently across his forehead, pushing back stray locks of white hair. “But I want you to know that we’re all here for you, and we’re going to get you out of this. And, hey, maybe we can do a group movie night when you’re feeling better? Kara’s compiled a list of all the ones with good aliens in them, just for you.” Alex smiled down at him, the kind of smile that was reserved for a person only when no one else was looking.

In that moment, Nia really did feel like they were all a family. Dysfunctional at times, sure, but what family wasn’t? Nia didn’t want to disturb the moment, but before she could step away, there was a knock at the door.

Alex looked away instinctively, and her eyes met Nia’s directly. Nia swallowed, lifting her hand from the door. “I’ll get that.”

“It’s J’onn,” Alex said, immediately composing herself. She gave Brainy’s shoulder a gentle squeeze before standing, dusting herself off for lack of anything better to do. “I can get it, if you want?”

“It’s fine,” Nia said, smiling quickly. “It’ll only take a second.”

She turned quickly, half-jogging towards the front door. She supposed J’onn didn’t even really need to use the door, but she appreciated the courtesy.

In the entryway stood J’onn J’onzz. Nia knew J’onn quite well now, but she knew that to Kara and Alex, he was practically their dad. She was pretty sure that J’onn was starting to feel that same way towards Brainy, but Brainy was generally oblivious to those sorts of things, especially considering his past where parental figures were concerned.

Yet another aspect of his life Nia knew of in segments, but not nearly enough to piece together.

J’onn regarded her warmly, although she could see tension behind his eyes. “Nia. Hello. I-I wish we could be seeing each other under better circumstances.”

“Join the club,” Nia said, smiling briefly. She gestured inside. “Come on in, Brainy’s in the bedroom with Alex.”

J’onn nodded, walking briskly across the room. Nia was pretty sure he’d never actually been inside her bedroom before, but he found it just fine. She briefly wondered whether he’d looked inside her head for that information, but disregarded the thought just as quickly. It was probably pretty obvious by this point.

Nia followed J’onn inside. Alex was stood at the foot of the bed, but the tension lining her shoulders lifted the second she saw J’onn. She stepped forward, relaxing as she walked into his arms. “J’onn, thank god. Thank you for coming.”

J’onn hugged Alex back just as tightly before letting go. “Of course, anything for family.” He looked towards where Brainy lay, and his expression softened. “Oh Brainy…” he muttered.

Alex looked at him unsurely. “Do you sense anything?”

J’onn grimaced. “From the moment I stepped through the door. He’s… hurting.” J’onn drew a hand over Brainy’s sleeping body, a few inches from actually touching him. “Even while he lies in this state, he cannot rest. There’s much going on beneath the surface, it’s exhausting just to feel it second-hand.”

Nia winced, her arms folding tightly over her chest. “What can you do?” she asked.

J’onn glanced towards her. “I should be able to reach through into his mind, but Nia, I will need your help.”

Nia sucked in a breath, taking a step back. “I-I already tried.”

J’onn smiled at her, that simple and easy smile that made her want to trust anything he had to say. “Your powers are based on psychic energy, the collective unconscious that binds us together.” He paused, glancing back towards Brainy. “I have never reached through to a Coluan before; their mind is based on levels, structures beyond structures. To be able to tether myself to Brainy’s base identity, I will need someone who knows how to navigate the dreamscape.”

“I can try,” Nia said. “B-but, last time, it was… it was like there was something stopping me from getting through to him.”

“Yes,” J’onn said, nodding in understanding. “I would imagine that he may have some kind of mental block set in place. But those can go both ways.” He gave Nia a meaningful look. “You have to believe in your ability, Nia. Your powers are incredibly potent, you have to let them guide you, not force them back.”

Nia was a little taken aback by that. Did J’onn really think that she’d tried to push her powers away when they were the only thing she could use to get through to Brainy? She wanted to be angry, but… she couldn’t. J’onn’s words held such deep-rooted understanding, it was like he was able to look into her mind without even using his powers.

Nia couldn’t be certain that she had been holding herself back before. But, right now, she knew nothing would stop her from reaching through to Brainy. She cleared her throat. “Yes. Okay. I will.” She looked at J’onn again, a little firmer this time. “I’m ready when you are.”

J’onn smiled. “That’s what I like to hear.”

 

* * *

 

Alex had seen J’onn look into a person’s mind before, but this was different somehow. He’d said Brainy’s mind wasn’t like a human’s – which made sense. Alex knew Brainy could create compartments in his mind, even prisons like the one he’d locked the virus inside. His mind was intricate, probably constantly shifting to compensate for new data that he collected. What J’onn was doing was less like reading a mind and more like, well, hacking a _computer._

Alex watched closely as J’onn explained to Nia exactly what they were to do. Nia didn’t look convinced, but every time her eyes darted to Brainy, that changed entirely. She looked more confident when she was reminded what she was fighting for.

And just what _was_ Nia fighting for? Alex couldn’t help but smile at the way Nia looked at Brainy. Alex wondered if Nia even realised how obvious she was being. It was no secret that Brainy and Nia both had feelings for each other, but they never acted on them. It had been going on for months, and Alex was _this_ close to locking them in a room and demanding they figure it out for themselves.

It would come in time, though. And a part of Alex wondered if that time was sooner than she’d expected. Ever since she’d come back to the apartment, there was something different in the way that Nia regarded Brainy, like something important had happened between them.

It was stupid to try and pry. Alex didn’t want to, that was private, between Nia and Brainy. But it was incredibly sweet to watch. Alex just hoped she wasn’t being too obvious about it herself.

“We will need to join hands,” J’onn told Nia, extending his own. She took them after a moment’s hesitation. He smiled. “Good, now, I want you to visualise the dreamscape. Every time you have entered it before. It will feel different this time. I will heighten your power, pushing you to go further than a normal human consciousness. We will be pushing the boundaries, entering a realm that varies greatly from that. Whatever happens, remain confident in your skill. That is very important.”

Nia nodded, closing her eyes.

“Alright,” J’onn said, and Alex could see the red tint in his eyes before he closed them. “Count back from three in your mind. Do not be alarmed when you hear another voice inside your head.”

Nia grinned sarcastically. “Great.”

Alex walked over to the bed, perching on the furthest edge. She’d promised to stick around until this was over with, but she couldn’t help but worry about what might be happening at the DEO now that the virus was still out there. So long as it continued to try and merge, it was only affecting the power lines for a localised area, but if the virus got strong enough to break through, it would be heading straight for Nia’s apartment.

She tried to quell her fears, instead focusing on J’onn and Nia as they bowed their heads. They both sat a few inches from Brainy, hands locked together. Brainy remained still and undisturbed, hands locked loosely across his chest.

Alex surmised that the countdown must have ended, because a sudden blue light stretched out from Nia’s palms, wrapping around both her and J’onn’s fingers like a serpent. It wound once, then twice, and on and on until it had created a perfect spherical binding around their hands. It glowed dully, flickering scattered light across their faces.

That must have been the connection J’onn was talking about. Nia’s dream energy strengthened by his telepathy. Right now, both of them must have been walking in the realm of Brainy’s mind.

Alex could only hope they pulled him out sooner rather than later.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you know the hardest part about editing a story that you've finished? Figuring out chapter. breaks. I couldn't decide how long I wanted this to be, but I think I ended on a good result. Hopefully. It's 1am, what do I know?
> 
> Thanks for your support. Comments and kudos are always welcome! :)

For a while, all Nia saw was blue light. She recognised it as her dream energy, feeling immediately strengthened by its presence. She wasn’t afraid that she couldn’t see anything – not like before with the disruption field. Inside the bubble, she’d been suffocated by the toxicity of the orange light. Here, there was only peace. Her dream would keep her safe.

But this wasn’t _her_ dream.

_Can you hear me?_

Nia recognised the voice immediately as J’onn’s. He didn’t have a form here yet, a part of her was vaguely aware that neither did she. Right now, they were two consciousnesses floating in a haze of blue. Their only tether was each other.

 _“I can hear you,”_ Nia said – or _thought_ she said. It was difficult to tell without a mouth. She’d definitely spoken the words, but it was more like she’d actualised them with her mind rather than with a with a physical body.

_Good. What do you see?_

_“Blue,”_ Nia said. _“It’s the same colour as my dreams.”_

_It would be. You are guiding us with your power, but right now we are not quite tethered to Brainy’s consciousness. You have to find a way inside._

_“I- what?”_ If Nia could have frowned, she would have. Instead, all she could do was relay her confusion with the wariness of her disembodied dream-voice. _“I thought you said you could get us inside?”_

_Only with your help. I am giving you the heightened power to get us inside, Nia. Think of me as your guide, nothing more. You are the one in control._

Well, that in itself was terrifying, but Nia chose to ignore those feelings. _“How do I do that?_ ” she asked.

_Feel for it, reach out with your mind. Brainy tried to block you in your conscious state, but here, your power can slip through the cracks. Dream energy is far more potent than an emotional blocker._

_Emotional_ blocker? Something about that specific choice of phrasing didn’t sit well with Nia. Even still, she understood what J’onn meant. She always felt more in sync when she was fully immersed in a dream, trying to connect to her predictive abilities whilst conscious was still new and incredibly distracting, but in _here,_ she was free to use the full expanse of her abilities.

So, what could she feel?

Nia stretched out with her mind, searching the blue tides around her like fingers grazing through water. She hoped to snag on something – a thought or emotion that might lead her to Brainy’s mind.

It was like casting a rod out into an endless abyss. She could feel the emptiness around her like a pit in her stomach, and every time she found nothing, that pit only seemed to intensify.

But she kept trying.

Time inside the dreamscape was a non-entity. Nia didn’t worry that she was taking too long – she didn’t worry about anything that was happening outside of this world at all. All she needed was one connection, anything that could point her towards Brainy.

And then, like a small flutter, she found something. A tremor in the dreamscape, a tear ready to be ripped through.

She could _feel_ something. An emotion, maybe? It was hard to tell.

 _“I think I’ve got something,”_ Nia said. _“It feels different, at least. I don’t know why.”_

_Coluans experience the dreamscape in another sense. It feels different to you because it is. Use that. Latch us onto it._

_“Okay.”_

Nia focused her hold on the spec of _something_ swimming out in the endless blue. She didn’t move in a physical sense, but she grew closer to the spec with every beat of her heart. And, with each beat, more of that same odd feeling rippled towards her, sinking into her soul. It was a strong feeling, like someone had grabbed her stomach and _pulled._ Nia hadn’t felt this close to her physical self since entering the dreamscape, but she knew right now that her chest was alive with an abundance of energy, burning and dancing like fireflies. It was overpowering, confusing, terrifying.

Nia kept going.

She was right in front of the spec now. Small and insecure and adamant that no one would ever break through. And yet, despite how small it appeared, it gave off the energy and fire of something a million times bigger.

It wanted Nia to be wary of it. To be confused or confounded by it. It would do anything in its power to dissuade her from getting any closer.

If Nia had her body right now, she would have smirked. That _definitely_ sounded like someone she knew.

 _“You don’t want me to come in?”_ Nia asked the spec. _“That’s fine. I don’t need your permission.”_

Nia reached with fingers that existed only in her mind, and grabbed the spec in her clutches.

Then, her blue ocean turned black.

 

* * *

 

Alex started when Nia frowned, dipping her head. J’onn hadn’t reacted, and Brainy was just as still laid out on the bed. It didn’t look like Nia was aware of anything, but Alex couldn’t help but wonder whether what had just happened was a good or bad sign.

She stood from the bed, desperate for something to do. She paced, toying with her dead phone as though that might give her some kind of distraction.

It didn’t.

She wondered whether she should go outside, call Kara or reconnect with the DEO. She didn’t know what was happening on the streets right now, what the virus was doing. Whether it was doing _anything._

She flinched as she ducked out from beneath the field disruptor. Every time she went in or out, her ears popped, like she was being depressurised. She wondered whether that was how it felt to Brainy – maybe for him it just felt normal. That was what it was supposed to do, right? Stabilise him?

She was thinking too much, or not enough, or… She just had to take a breath, calm down, try not to think like the world was about to end.

_Tap tap._

Alex’s heart froze. She swivelled on the spot, one hand reaching for her DEO-issued weapon. She was stood in the living room with a direct view of the windows displaying the city outside.

And Supergirl.

Alex gaped. “What are you doing?” she mouthed, gesturing to the window.

Kara gave her an exhausted look, rolling her eyes. She tapped the window again.

Alex blinked. _Oh. Right._

The window was big enough for a person to climb through pretty easily. Alex unlocked the window, pushing it open so that Kara could squeeze in.

“You know,” Alex said, as Kara brushed herself down, “you could have used the door.”

“I didn’t want to wait for the elevator,” Kara said, but there was no humour in her voice.

Alex frowned. “What happened?”

Kara sighed. “Your agents did everything they could, but the virus stopped responding to the transmitters. I don’t think we have much-” Kara stopped suddenly, her eyes widening.

“Uh, Kara?” Alex asked unsurely.

Kara blinked. “Alex, please don’t freak out.”

“Okay, well that’s the w _orst_ thing you could have said,” Alex said, grabbing her weapon from her holster. Although non-lethal, it could still pack a hell of a punch.

She turned to face where Kara was staring. The moment she saw it, she nearly lost her footing.

The lightbulb hanging in the kitchen was no longer a lightbulb.

Okay, that wasn’t necessarily true. It was s _till_ a lightbulb, but Alex could no longer see it. It was as though all the light in that one spot had been taken away, like an abstract attempt at cutting out part of a picture. The darkness was so profound, it hurt her eyes to keep looking at it, but, at the same time, she couldn’t look away.

The longer she stared, the more she began to realise that the darkness was stretching. Almost like something was reaching out of it.

“Alex,” Kara said in warning.

“What?” Alex asked, her voice breathless.

“ _Get down!_ ”

Belatedly, Alex realised that the spot wasn’t just dark, it was giving off a low and dangerous hum. The same sound she’d heard back in the DEO when the virus had escaped through the fluorescents. She understood what was about to happen a second after Kara pushed her to the ground, wrapping her cape around both of their bodies.

With a horrible cracking sound, the bulb shattered into a thousand pieces.

 

* * *

 

 Nia gasped out in shock.

 _Oh god,_ she could _gasp!_

She could breathe now, too. She patted herself down, feeling flesh where there had been nothing before. She had a body here. She could _touch._

“It’ll take a brief period for your mind to adjust,” J’onn said.

Nia pitched to the side, staring up to find J’onn stood next to her. He seemed perfectly calm to be a walking talking flesh sack again.

Okay, that was a terrible, _terrible_ choice of wording, what was she thinking?

J’onn smiled, seeming to see the confusion in Nia’s eyes. “You may find that your thoughts are a little scrambled to begin with. Fear not, it will pass.”

Nia nodded, rubbing at her face. Because she had a _face too._ “Okay,” she said, taking a deep breath. “Yeah, that’s cool.”

“You did remarkably well,” J’onn noted. “I knew you could do it, but _that_ quickly? You really have been working hard to strengthen your abilities.”

“Believe me, I feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface of anything,” Nia said, staring at her fingers. She flexed them, frowning. “Okay, I think I’m alright now.”

“Good,” J’onn said, nodding forward. “Tell me, where do you think we are?”

Nia looked up, blinking in an attempt to focus. Weirdly enough, seeing had been a lot easier when she didn’t have eyes _._

After giving it a moment for her vision to adjust, she frowned. They were stood in a hallway. Or, at least, Nia thought it was a hallway. The walls were white, so were the floors. It was a bright kind of white, like the surface had been bleached to get rid of anything colourful or interesting. She winced.

“ _This_ is Brainy’s head?” she asked sceptically. “I thought there’d be more…” She gestured unsurely. “Wires?”

J’onn actually laughed at that. “This is a physical manifestation of Brainy’s mind. I believe he would call it a _mind palace._ It’s hard to say, but I don’t think we’ve exactly come through the front door.”

Nia’s face fell. “Don’t tell me this is a labyrinth.”

J’onn smiled, shaking his head. “No, no, nothing like that. Although, I would imagine that we might have to do a bit of _soul searching_ to find him.”

Nia stared. “Was that a pun?” She gave him a scrutinizing look. “You can make _puns?_ ”

J’onn shrugged, gesturing ahead. “Shall we?”

Nia looked down the hallway. She couldn’t see any turns from here, or doors, or… _anything._ She swallowed, clenching her hands together. She took a step forward, half expecting the world to pitch on its side. Nothing changed, the hallway remained just as unassuming and blank as it had been before.

She’d honestly been hoping for something more interesting.

“Alright,” Nia said, smiling sharply. “Let’s do this.”

 

* * *

 

“What the hell is _happening!?_ ” Alex demanded.

Kara stared in abject horror. This was insane. This was _so_ insane. “I have no idea!”

The lights were freaking out. Every bulb in Nia’s apartment was flickering between two states: supernova and black hole. One second, the room was bathed with so much light it actually _burned_ to look at _,_ the next it was like the bulbs didn’t exist at all. That awful black nothingness plagued every shattered fixture, tearing through the ceiling like giant cuts out of the universe.

Kara tried desperately to assess the situation. She tried to switch to her x-ray vision, but it didn’t help, nothing seemed to change at all. She had Alex protected with her cape, but two more bulbs had already exploded, and she was certain the one in the hallway was the next to go.

_Oh Rao, the bedroom!_

Confident that the sofa would keep Alex protected from the bulbs, Kara sped into the bedroom, scanning the small space. It was still dark in there; the candles flickered as her speed caught up with her, propelling a small breeze into the room. The lights were unaffected, the disruptor was still up. Nia and J’onn were motionless on the bed, bowed over an unconscious Brainy.

Kara’s heart clenched, but she didn’t have time to focus on one bad thing when another, far immensely _worse_ thing was happening out in the hallway. And the kitchen. And the living room.

“ _Kara!”_

Kara was back by Alex’s side in a heartbeat, using her body as a shield as she looked to the points Alex was staring.

Beneath the shattered remains of the bulbs in the ceiling, a dark mass began to form. Not like the jagged cuts from before, but something with more substance. It grew, elongated, _slithered_ from the ceiling like horribly disfigured tentacles. Their movements went beyond inhuman, it was like they were shimmering, shifting, an image that replicated, overlapping each other, occupying the same space a thousand times over.

“Rao help us,” Kara muttered. “This is the virus.”

“Brainy said it had a body,” Alex said weakly. “I thought he meant on a virtual level.”

“No, Alex,” Kara said slowly, “I think he was right.” Nia was going to hate her for this, but hey, the apartment was already a mess. What was one more scorch mark?

Kara focused her laser vision on the tentacle shifting from the kitchen ceiling. She wasn’t surprised when the ray of heat went straight through the creature, leaving a black mark on the far wall.

“Virtual manifestation?” Alex asked, eyes wide.

“Uh-huh,” Kara said grimly. “I hope Nia and J’onn can figure this out. I don’t think we’ll be able to hold this thing off forever.”

“Nope,” Alex said, and Kara could hear the cock of her gun behind her. “But we can slow it down.”

 

* * *

 

Nia followed the hallway, J’onn at her side.

There was no sense of direction in this hallway; Nia could turn a corner and find that they were heading back the way they’d started, or they’d turn left only to start walking right. The hallway existed to confuse, and despite there being no levels to it, Nia had the vague sense she was walking through a space just as confounding as that of _Relativity,_ a piece of artwork she remembered studying back at school. It was exhausting, never-ending, a boring onset of white upon white that drilled into her skull. It lacked logic or reason and yet was clearly constructed by a mind that’s brilliance went unparalleled. Of course, Nia would _never_ admit to that out loud.

Behind it all, though, Nia felt like she was still staring at that tiny spec out in her ocean of blue, as though she had never left in the first place. It was like it was mocking her.

Nia froze suddenly, blinking with realisation.

J’onn stopped next to her.

“Hang on,” she said slowly. “I think I know what’s going on here.”

J’onn didn’t say anything, he simply stood, waiting for her to elaborate.

“We’re still fighting Brainy’s defence mechanism,” Nia said, glancing about herself. “This hallway doesn’t make sense, and it never _will._ If we keep following it, it’ll never let us in. He wants to confuse us into giving up.” Nia rolled her eyes. “I’m surprised there wasn’t a math puzzle.”

“Excellent work.” J’onn nodded. “What’s your plan?”

“This,” Nia said, and she sat on the floor.

J’onn looked down at her for a moment. Eventually, he shrugged, lowering himself to the ground.

“You think this will work?” J’onn asked. Nia had a feeling he already knew the answer to that.

“This is Brainy’s mind,” Nia said. “If we go against the highest probability of your average intruder, something’s gotta give.”

J’onn raised an eyebrow. “Do you think that’s necessarily a good thing?”

Nia shrugged, folding her arms. “Too late to go back now.”

She continued to sit, stock still and adamant for a period of time that was impossible to calculate. It was just enough time for her to wonder whether this would work, to question the possibility that no matter what they did, Brainy would never let them in. Maybe that was the whole point. After all, it had definitely felt that way when she’d been awake, throwing her consciousness into the mental equivalent of a brick wall.

But, no. That must have been part of it too. If she questioned her motives, then she’d give up and keep walking down the same endless, mind-numbing hallway. Her resolve had to remain the same. If she stayed here, she was differing from the norm. And if there was one thing she knew about Brainy, it was that he would be intrigued by anything that didn’t follow the rules implemented by differential calculus.

It was then that Nia heard something. The smallest creak, like a door blowing open in the wind.

Nia glanced behind her, heart hammering in her chest. Her stomach twisted when she saw it. A door had opened in a section of the hall that had been an impenetrable wall not a few moments ago. The door wasn’t futuristic like what she’d been expecting. It wasn’t electronic, or motion powered, and it most certainly didn’t slide open like an elevator.

It was made of old, sturdy wood. And it looked a lot like her bedroom door.

Heat flooded through her as she stood, trying not to catch J’onn’s eye. She knew he knew that door, just as she knew he’d probably seen into her mind enough to know what something like that door represented.

Maybe she was reading too much into it. Brainy was physically still in her bedroom, after all. Maybe it was just one of the last things on his mind?

Then why was it that when Nia reached out for the handle, she felt a surge of something foreign and electric strike her blood? Something that, for just a moment, told her exactly where she could find Brainy.

He wanted her to find him.

Adamant not to lose the notion in her heart, Nia moved onwards, motioning for J’onn to join her. Excitement lit up in her chest, making her breath erratic and jumpy. She could do this. She _would_ do this.

Past the wooden door, the first thing Nia noticed was that the hallway was no longer as blank as it had been before. The white walls were marred with darker stains, cuts and grazes in the surface. They were nearly transparent, giving way to a glowing collection of thrumming lines that travelled through the hallway, twisting up and around but always heading somewhere.

This was more Nia’s speed. She bounded into a half jog, glancing about herself automatically for more visual clues. She’d learnt to pick up on stuff like that after reading into prophetic dreaming. She was by no means an expert, not like her sister, but that didn’t matter. She could gather the basics if nothing else.

The further she went, the wider the hallway became. The glowing lines pulsed from the walls, tangling over themselves as they continued onward. The floor was no longer empty, Nia noticed. Pieces of balled-up paper lay at odd intervals, or sheets that had been torn or tossed. Nia paused a moment to pick a piece up. Something surged through her fingers when she touched it, but upon opening the paper, she found nothing but a blank slate.

Nia sighed, crumpling the paper between her fingers. She chose to keep a piece, if nothing other than to feel a connection to Brainy.

And that connection was strengthening. Nia barely felt J’onn behind her anymore, instead, she was completely overpowered by the sense of someone familiar waiting for her at the end of the hall. It left the sensation of static in her stomach, butterflies in her chest. It was pure exhilaration, fear, and just a tinge of disbelief. What if she was still acting on one of Brainy’s tricks? What if this had all been a ruse?

But it felt _real._ That had to count for something, right?

Doors began to appear on the walls the further she went. They bore no resemblance to her bedroom; these doors were metallic structures, reinforced steel. They had no windows, no gaps or breaks to give any indication as to what lay behind them.

Nia stopped. Curiosity nagged at her. She turned towards the closest door, reaching towards the plated metal. Before her finger even touched it, a zap of something sharp and numbing shot up her arm. She jolted backwards, cradling her arm against her chest, staring at the door in bewilderment.

The door gave off a certain sense to her. Things locked that deep rarely wanted to be toyed with, and although the door was possibly one of the most daunting things she’d ever seen, she’d also never considered anything as vulnerable in her life.

How many of these doors did Brainy have? How many of them had lost their handles along the way?

“Are you alright?” J’onn asked suddenly. It was the first thing he’d said in a while. He really was taking this job as a silent guide very seriously.

Nia pursed her lips, nodding quickly. “I’m fine,” she said. “We should keep moving.”

And so they did. The doors weren’t packed side-by-side, which was some kind of a relief for Nia. They were interspersed, but she still counted far too many to be healthy for someone’s subconscious mind.

Yet, somehow, what Nia saw next was worse than that.

She froze; she couldn’t help herself. Dreams were all about image and emotion, rarely about physical touch or structure. Right now, she could feel something. _A lot_ of something.

It was strange… not unlike that feeling she’d had back in the ocean of blue. Coluans experienced certain things in different ways, and Nia had wondered whether that meant their emotions were more logical, more structured. It would explain all the locked doors for sure. But what she felt now was messy, unsteady. It was static and thick, a boiling pot of wild and unfocused thoughts and feelings. They weren’t hers; she _knew_ they weren’t hers. She wasn’t feeling them first-hand. She was practically being attacked by them.

Something else was wrong, too.

The hallway felt off, somehow. Although an endless forward motion, the closer she'd been gaining to the notion of Brainy, the more accomodated she'd felt by the flashing pale walls. Now, though, she could hardly say that felt true at all.

Nia kept walking, feeling a tightness in her chest as these strange emotions rolled across her, testing her, reaching out to her as though they were just as confused by her presence as she was by theirs.

There was something up ahead, to the left. Something that left a sinister feeling in the pit of her stomach.

A door.

But it wasn’t a door.

It was a _cell._

And it was open.

 

* * *

 

Alex watched as Kara blew another gust of ice breath towards the virus. It didn’t even slow it _down,_ the ice simply slipped through the virus' overlapping structure, evaporating on the other side.

Alex evaluated her options. Physical fighting was out of the picture; Kara couldn’t land a hit and none of her powers had any effect on the creature. It was pure power in its code-form, and now that it was manifesting, it was like nothing could stop it.

It had overpowered every light fixture in the whole apartment, imbuing it with so much energy that they’d been forced to blow. Alex couldn’t explain the black holes, only that the virus must have been taking the energy as well as overpowering it. Absorbing and destroying all in its path. It really _was_ a parasite.

And it was inside of Brainy.

A sick feeling twisted inside of Alex’s stomach. If the virus couldn’t overpower Brainy’s electronic enhancements, it would jump straight to burning him out, eating up the energy inside his system. She didn’t know whether the disruptor would be enough to hold something like this. It wasn’t like they had a frame of reference. No one had ever _encountered_ a creature like this before.

Alex pointed her gun at the virus, charging it up.

She wondered…

The shot rang out loud and true. Kara swivelled towards Alex as the taser blast hit the virus at its centre tentacle, the one that was now nearly touching the floor. It was grotesque looking, like something out of a really messed up alien movie. Brainy might have been offended by some of those films, but hey, in this rare circumstance, Alex thought the movies might have done this thing justice.

The tentacle reacted to the shot; not exactly as Alex had anticipated, but just as close. The pulse of energy travelled up the tentacle, and for just a moment it shuddered. The way its image continued to slip over itself like living static paused for just a moment, leaving something jagged in its place. It wasn’t frozen for even two seconds before it melted back into a tide of swarming code, but Alex could work with that.

She turned her gun’s capacity all the way up.

“I don’t think it’s used to holding a form like this without its main body,” Alex told Kara, her voice as sturdy as she could force it. “It looks like the taser can short out its ability to communicate, just like Brainy’s transmitters.”

Alex and Kara both reacted at the same time, turning to each other.

“ _The transmitters!_ ”

“Get them,” Alex ordered. “Get to the ground team and take as many as you can.”

Kara nodded. Whether she flew or ran, Alex couldn’t tell, she was gone before she could blink either way.

Alex shot the virus again, the added punch of her full capacity taser caused the virus to release a high-pitched sound. Something between a squeal and a scream.

If it wasn’t trying to destroy her family, she might have felt sorry for it.

_Might._

The central tentacle curled in on itself, lifting further towards the fixture. Alex stared in a mixture of fascination and disgust as the virus used that tentacle to pull the rest of its ‘body’ from the bulb. It looked awful; a mass of strange jittery legs that continued to fold over themselves as it tried to move. It was almost like a comically large spider made of tentacles. Alex suddenly wished she had a giant folded newspaper to whack it with, although she knew it would have only phased right through it.

She could tell what it was trying to do. From the virus’ perspective, it had a clear line of sight from its standpoint all the way to Nia’s bedroom.

Alex’s eyes narrowed. “Oh no you don’t,” she said, and she shot it again.

The noise did not get any better.

With a small gust as her entrance, Kara appeared next to Alex, a handful of mobile transmitters in her arms. Alex took one.

“Will these even work?” Kara asked.

“No idea,” Alex said. “But if it’s made itself vulnerable to do this, maybe the scrambling sequence will still hold.” She gave Kara a meaningful look. “Ready?”

Kara stared up at the creature, cringing. “Why does it have so many _legs?”_

_“Kara!”_

“Sorry!” Kara shook her head, lifting her transmitter towards it. “Ready. I’m ready.”

“On three.”

Kara nodded. “Mhm.”

“One, t _wo-”_

She and Kara switched on their devices in perfect unison. “Three!”

 

* * *

 

Nia had wondered what a cell might look like actualised in Brainy’s mind. Regular cells had beds, for example. This cell did not.

It was just a white, empty space. That same bleached white from before. There was nothing in it to suggest anyone had ever occupied it, but Nia knew that wasn’t true. She knew that something had been in here and very, _very_ recently.

“Nia,” J’onn called from the main hall. “I think you should see this.”

Nia walked out from the cell, peering in the direction J’onn was pointing.

Her stomach sank.

There were more doors after the cells, reinforced steel like each one before it. They had all been opened.

Nia walked to the nearest entryway. None of the doors had handles, but there were dents in the steel like something had physically forced its way inside. Nia looked inside the first of the doors, not quite sure what to expect.

She frowned.

Bleached white walls and floors, just like the cell, but this room wasn’t empty. There were boxes inside, tens to hundreds of boxes. They’d once been stacked, neat and organised, but now they were dented, upturned, completely obliterated in some cases. Paper littered the floor, blank sheets that remained stagnant in a world that had no air to move them.

Boxes. Why was that so familiar?

Nia backed out of the room, skidding towards the next open door. More boxes, some cardboard, some plastic, some appearing more metallic in nature. It didn’t matter what materials they were made from, each had been lifted, torn from its space, shaken out or broken to free whatever lay inside. Nia moved to the next door, then to the next and the next until she couldn’t tell them apart anymore.

Every room was filled with boxes. And every box had been violently destroyed.

But, _boxes?_ Why boxes? There was something there. A vague hint of a memory trying to push through. Open boxes were a pretty easy thing to analyse when materialised within a dream, but this was too specific. Nia _knew_ about these boxes.

Why did she know?

There was still a tug in her chest, the sense of knowing that Brainy was close now. She’d been distracted, horrified by whatever had barrelled through this place, but that wasn’t important right now. What _was_ important was finding Brainy.

So they kept going. J’onn didn’t say anything about what they’d seen, and Nia was glad. She didn’t have the energy to even try to discuss it. She had to focus on what they’d come here for.

Nia could see something up ahead, an obstruction in the once vast hallway. It had opened further, widened out into a rough curve. Steel bars sliced the space between Nia and the room beyond. She was staring at a cage, not unlike the prison cell before it. The only difference was that this one stood at the end of the hallway. There was nowhere else that she could go.

_End of the line._

Nia’s heart thrummed in her chest. She grabbed for the bars, ignoring the pinpricks of energy that jolted through her blood in response.

“Brainy,” she murmured.

She should have said it louder, should have yelled it out at him to draw his attention, but the moment Nia saw him, her throat closed up.

Brainy sat behind the bars, crossed legged, head bowed. His hands were rested gently on his knees. He didn’t look like he could hear anything.

Nia yanked at the bars, trying to force them to give. They didn’t. There was no door to this cage, and the bars were too narrow for her to try and slip through.

“What the hell is this,” Nia said, before clearing her throat, raising her voice as she called out, “Brainy! Brainy, it’s Nia, can you hear me?”

“Nia,” J’onn said softly. His hand rested against her shoulder, warm and sturdy. “That will not work in here.”

Nia stared uncomprehendingly. Brainy didn’t look as sick as he did in the real world. His blue skin wasn’t as pale here, and his white hair wasn’t damp or clinging to his face. He looked healthier, aside from one thing.

The lights on his forehead – his interface – were completely dark.

“I came all this way,” Nia said quietly. Her throat felt tight, like it might choke her with little warning. “Don’t tell me he’s shut down here as well?”

Nia felt J’onn as he moved to stand at her side. “I will not pretend to be an expert of the dreamscape,” he said simply, “but what I do know is that our dreams can allow us to do amazing things, but only if our deepest subconscious is confident enough to do so. Any discrepancy, any fear, and everything falls apart.” He placed his hand over one of the bars. If he’d felt the same response as Nia, he showed no signs of it. “Tell me, Nia. What have you seen inside of Brainy’s mind palace today?”

Nia bit her tongue, clenching her hands around the bars. “J’onn, is this really the time-?”

“Enlighten me.”

Nia sighed. “An empty cell,” she said. “And boxes.” She decided not to mention her bedroom door. Just in case J’onn really hadn’t noticed.

“Dreams can represent many things,” J’onn mused, “but sometimes, we will overthink our analysis and miss the things that should be obvious.”

Nia snorted. “Yeah, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.”

J’onn glanced down at her, eyebrow quirked.

“It’s an old saying,” Nia explained offhandedly. “I read it in one of my sister’s dream analysis books. It’s kind of a joke about the gross way Freud thought dreams worked.” She shrugged. “Sometimes seeing a cigar in a dream means it’s just a cigar. No deeper meaning.”

“And so, a prison cell?”

“…Is just a prison cell.”

“Which makes you think,” J’onn said. “Just what was Brainy keeping prisoner?”

Nia blinked, realisation hitting her like a punch to the gut. She sucked in a breath, letting go of the bars. “I’m so s _tupid,_ ” she ground out, tearing a hand through her hair. “Brainy said it himself. He put the virus in a compartment in his head. A prison cell!”

J’onn didn’t say anything, but Nia could tell she was on the right track.

“If the cell was empty… that means…” she drew off, suddenly hyper aware of everything around her. “The virus is out. All those open doors, all those boxes, the virus must have done that.” Her mind was working on overdrive now, picking out all the points she’d missed along the way. “Brainy couldn’t wake up because the virus is in here with him, he’s not holding it back anymore. So… these bars.” She reached for them again, stopping herself when she remembered how they had reacted to her the first time. She clenched her hands. “They’re for his protection. He’s locked himself away.”

“Perplexing,” J’onn said.

“But why,” Nia said, folding her arms. “Why would he _do_ that? He could fight the virus. He’s been doing it this whole time. Why would he lock himself away now?” She paused, frowning. “Boxes…”

“Boxes?”

“The boxes.” Nia snapped her fingers. She remembered. Brainy had mentioned boxes before, usually as passing statements, nearly always in regard to Lena… but he’d told her about them before. How he was using them as a way to compartmentalise his emotions.

And Nia had told him it was incredibly unhealthy. You shouldn’t hold your emotions back, not ever, because you weren’t gaining anything from it. Boxes could burst or overfill or… upturn. They could be damaged or destroyed and then everything you’d neatly packed away would break loose. And you would be lost trying to piece together all the scraps.

“Oh Brainy,” Nia murmured, closing her eyes. She could feel the sting of tears beneath her lids. “For a genius, you can be a total idiot sometimes.”

If every box represented an emotion, then the virus had upturned every dark thought, every fear, every terrifying memory, and set it loose at the forefront of Brainy’s mind. Nia didn’t know half of Brainy’s past, but she knew some of his insecurities, she’d heard touches of his family drama and knew about some of his villainous relatives. He’d taken Lena’s advice a little too dramatically. Coluan minds were equipped for it, Nia supposed, but that made it all the worse. A human mind could imagine a box and that might work for the most part, but a Coluan could guarantee success.

Until they couldn’t.

“Nia.”

Nia started, glancing towards J’onn. He wasn’t facing the prison bars anymore, he wasn’t looking at Brainy at all. Instead, he was looking out at the hallway they’d just walked through.

Nia’s eyes narrowed. The hallway looked smaller now, and the pulsing veins in the walls seemed more pronounced, as though a shadow had been cast over them.

Then there was a screech. A horrible, inhuman yowl. It sent a jarring fear through Nia’s bones, gluing her to the spot. She’d never, not once, been as terrified of any sound more than the unhinged noise that was coming from the hallway.

Except, it wasn’t the hallway making those sounds. It was the shadow. Well, the shadow that wasn’t a shadow.

Nia stared, frozen on the spot as the shadow spiralled outwards, long snake-like appendages grew from the wall, slapping against the floor in quick succession. It was a scuttle of slithering limbs, with a sharp, nasty looking flesh-like beak at its centre. It gnashed the spikes it had for teeth, its limbs sliding and tripping over themselves as it moved towards them.

Nia only had one thought:

_Can you die inside a dream?_


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a few episodes of Supergirl to go and additionally, only a few more chapters left of this fic as well! I hope you guys have enjoyed the ride so far! I really enjoyed writing this chapter - I hope you'll like reading it too!
> 
> Comments and kudos always welcome :)

The tentacle monster fell from the ceiling, landing with a squeal in a pile of static, coded limbs. Kara squeezed the mobile transmitter in her hands, trying very hard not to shatter it in her haste to stop the creature.

The virus was clearly dazed by the transmitter, but its legs continued to twitch, the overlapping structure only slowed, looking more like a disturbed stream rather than running water.

“It’s still moving,” Kara said, cringing. “I really _really_ want to kick it.”

“Be my guest,” Alex said. “I don’t think it’ll work.”

Kara gritted her teeth, taking a step back as one of the creature’s tentacles feebly reached out. A hissing noise emanated from somewhere inside of its mass, but Kara had no idea how that was possible. She couldn’t see a mouth, or a face, or _anything_ to explain how it was able to make a sound at all.

But it was slower now, the code not forming nearly as fast. And, if the code that shifted over it was protecting it from truly existing in the physical world, well, then - right _now -_ surely, she could…

Kara reached out with her foot, poking the most lethargic tentacle with her boot. Just as she suspected, the tentacle didn’t phase through her. She actually _felt_ it. Like static electricity and slime mixed into one nauseating concoction. She could barely stomach looking at the thing, she could only imagine what it must have felt for Brainy to harbour it for so long inside his head.

Alex glanced at Kara. Her eyebrows furrowed seriously. “Kick it.”

Kara took a step back, honing her heat vision towards the creature at the same time she drew her leg back. Before she could do anything, however, the creature’s central tentacle shot further than Kara had thought possible, winding itself around her ankle.

“Gross!” Kara whined, aiming her heat vision at the seething appendage. The creature squealed, only to reach three more out in retaliation.

The tentacles were _strong._ They wound around Kara’s legs, twisting them together so that she nearly buckled to the ground. Kara panicked, ripping one tentacle away only for it to be replaced by two more not a second later.

“Stay still,” Alex said, holding her transmitter towards the virus. It made a low howling sound, and its grip loosened enough for Kara to struggle free.

Kara jumped a good distance from the virus, her chest heaving, eyes wide. There was something so _wrong_ about having living code touching your skin like that. It felt like she’d been burned from the inside, like the creature had tried to hack her like it would a machine. When it hadn’t found anything, Kara was sure she’d started to feel the energy trickle from her blood. Her legs felt unsteady suddenly, and she couldn’t focus her heat vision enough for another solid attack.

“Kara?” Alex asked, voice tight with worry.

Kara shook her head. “I’m fine,” she said. “Just… don’t let it touch you, okay?”

Easier said than done. The creature lay low while they spoke, but it was clear the transmitters were doing less and less the more they used them. The tentacles flattened like black tar against the floor, only to suddenly come to life again. Two reached towards Kara, two went for Alex.

Kara’s stomach sank; there was no easy way out of this.

 

* * *

 

“Can you phase us through?” Nia asked desperately. Her back was so firmly pressed against the bars that she could feel them digging into her skin.

J’onn scowled. “No. There’s an interference of some kind. We don’t make the rules in here.”

Nia pointed her hand outwards, trying to summon her dream energy. She didn’t have the gloves Brainy had made for her in here, and she’d never practiced with much success without them. Even a blast that sent her rocketing in the other direction would have been preferable to no weapon at all.

She suddenly desperately wished that she had her batons with her.

But she didn’t. She had no costume, no weapons, no powers. In here, she was just Nia Nal, CatCo employee with a somewhat problematic caffeine dependency.

That wouldn’t save her from the tentacle monster which was scuttling towards them, gnashing its beak. Nia only had one plan; it wasn’t the best plan, but it was the only thing she could think of. If the rules of reality didn’t work in here, it was because Brainy was in control of them. If he didn’t want them to have power, she could understand that, but she would be damned if they died because of it.

She turned to face the bars, digging her nails into the cold metal. “Brainy,” she said, raising her voice as loud as she could. “Brainy, it’s Nia, please, _please,_ you have to listen to me!”

Brainy didn’t stir.

Nia gritted her teeth. “Brainy, I’m here to help you. I can’t do that if the virus kills us. Please.” She pursed her lips, closing her eyes. “Please, Brainy.”

“Nia.”

J’onn’s voice was tight. Nia turned her head, only half surprised that the creature had lurched its final few steps towards them.

It let out a terrible hissing sound, black liquid spat from its needle-toothed beak. Nia didn’t have her predictive dreaming to guide her, but she tried to guess the virus’ next move anyway. Brainy’s combat training had focused heavily on logic, and logic suggested a creature like this would favour its strongest limb. The thing was made _entirely_ of limbs, but she figured the one that it leant on centrally would be the one to focus on.

She side-stepped right just as that same tentacle shot from the creature’s body, careening towards her. She felt a shock of slime as the tentacle slathered itself to the bar behind her back, curling around it before recoiling in haste.

J’onn managed to dodge a tentacle too, but the moment Nia glanced towards him to make sure he was still okay, the creature went for her again. A different tentacle shot towards her and, this time, Nia didn’t get the chance to dodge it.

The sensation of the creature’s tentacle around her arm was instantaneous. It was like a million tiny hair-sized needles had just pierced through her sleeve, injecting fire directly into her blood.

She screamed. She had no control over it. The pain was unbelievable, and for just a moment she thought she was going to lose the dreamscape entirely.

“Don’t lose your focus!” J’onn instructed from her side. His voice was twisted with pain, and Nia was vaguely aware that he was holding back one of the creature’s tentacles in his fists. “If we leave the dreamscape while the virus is touching us, we’ll give it access out of Brainy’s head!”

The pain was dulling her senses. Where there had been sharp unrelenting heat only seconds ago, now Nia could only feel a numb sort of pulse inside of her blood. She felt tired suddenly, like the creature was sucking the will right out from her body.

But she knew she couldn’t let go. No matter how much pain this creature put her through, even if it drained her on the spot, she couldn’t let it get out. The fire started to ignite again as another tentacle tethered itself to her ankle. The pain was stomach turning, and Nia found herself screaming again. Her vision was unfocused, but she couldn’t tell if she was losing consciousness or tearing up. She hoped they were just tears, she needed to stay tethered to this place. If she passed out, she didn’t think that would be possible.

Nia gritted her teeth, closing her eyes, forcing every ounce of strength she had to remain in this moment.

And then the virus squealed. The horrible numbing sensation began to fade as the tentacles loosened their grip, jolting away from her body as though they had been zapped. Nia stared without seeing; her mind whirred sluggishly in an attempt to understand what had happened. Her leg buckled and she fell awkwardly to the side. J’onn grabbed her arm, lowering her gently to the floor.

Nia narrowed her eyes, trying to force herself to focus. The virus was just… stood there. It wasn’t trying to attack anymore. That didn’t make sense. They were still-

Wait.

Nia realised with a jolt that she was staring at the virus from behind a set of sturdy prison bars. Her eyes widened. She looked at J’onn for an explanation.

“Don’t look at me,” J’onn said, raising his hands.

He didn’t look as hurt as she did, which was both relieving and a little embarrassing. Here she was, crumpled on the floor, unable to win a fight against a freaking tentacle ball.

But she was deflecting – turning her thoughts to anything other than what had happened. Because there was only one way that these bars would have had the power to move within the dreamscape, to slice between the walls of pain and safety and save them both.

Nia turned towards Brainy. He was still sat in the same position, but his head was no longer bowed. He was staring at her, wide eyed, his breathing heavy in his chest. Nia’s heart clenched; his expression was glassy, overwhelmed, like trying to focus on any one thing might tip whatever balance he was maintaining.

Nia struggled back onto her feet. J’onn glanced towards her unsurely, but she tried to assure him with her body language alone that she was okay. She knew exactly what she was doing.

It didn’t matter that that was a total lie.

Nia took a step towards Brainy and his body immediately tensed. He clenched his hands, turning his face away sharply.

It hurt. It hurt so much to see that kind of fear in his expression and know deep down that right now, he was actually afraid of her. Nia had never done anything to warrant those emotions, but she could understand how Brainy felt. She’d seen the destruction that had been caused inside his mind, all those torn and upturned boxes. He couldn’t differentiate friend from foe, and from the glassy look she’d seen in his eyes, she knew that this prison wasn’t just a way to protect himself from the virus. It was a way to hide from his own feelings.

“Brainy,” Nia said softly. She took another step forward, feeling the sting of tears at the corner of her eyes. “I’m not gonna hurt you. I would _never_ hurt you, do you understand?”

Brainy turned towards her, breathing in sharply. His eyes were so wide, so vulnerable. He scanned her face, but Nia didn’t see that same lamp-like recognition she would have had out in the real world. The way Brainy normally looked at her could vary depending on the situation, but more recently, when they were alone, his expression was always so warm, so open. Since coming to this century, he’d never really settled. He’d appeared uncomfortable in most situations and had expressed to Nia in a few rare moments of true sincerity just how out of place he felt here.

But recently, when she and Brainy would spend time together at her apartment, or when they’d team up at game night over at Kara’s, or when they settled down for a movie and he insisted on writing down every pop culture reference in his note book… in _those_ moments, he was relaxed. Nia didn’t see that tension that used to line his shoulders, didn’t see the way he tried to avoid eye contact or duck his head. He was comfortable with his family. With her.

Right now, though, it was like he was seeing a stranger. Or maybe he wasn’t seeing anything at all. Being attacked by that tentacle monster had been less painful than seeing the current look in Brainy’s eyes. Nia took a shaky breath, taking another step forward.

“It’s Nia,” she said slowly. “Nia Nal.” Then, she tried something cosmically unthinkable. “Nura’s ancestor.”

Brainy’s brow creased with a frown, and he shuffled backwards a little, continuing to scan her face with his dark eyes. His breathing was coming easier now, and his fingers weren’t as tightly clenched.

Nia held his gaze. It was so strange, seeing this much behind them. Brainy was incredibly good at deflecting, at hiding any emotion he so needed.  A few would climb to the surface if he was in a particularly intense mood, and although blunt and endearingly inept about understanding certain social boundaries, for the most part, it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

Right now, every defence he had was down. Nia wanted to make him feel safe, comfortable, all the things she’d never doubted before. Now, she was afraid to even touch him, as though he might start like a feral cat.

Eventually, Brainy’s eyes did glitter with something close to recognition. The change in his expression was both immediate and heart breaking. His chest heaved once before he said, “Nia Nal?”

Nia’s heart filled with that familiar heat. She took another step forward. “Yeah, Brainy, it’s me. I’m here.”

His lips parted, and he frowned. “H-how?” He stared blankly ahead of himself, eyes bleary, gaze unfocused. “How are you here?”

“I came for you.” She gestured to J’onn who stood as an imposing force between the bars and their conversation. “We both did.”

Brainy’s eyes darted from her for just a moment to regard J’onn. He sucked in a breath, and his eyes filled with more tears. He shook his head. “I cannot come with you,” he said in a small voice. He wavered, the first of his tears spilled down his face, leaving dark tracks on his blue skin.

“Yes,” Nia said. “Yes, you can. We just need to beat the virus.”

“Impossible.” Brainy’s lips twisted. “I am stuck here.”

Nia shook her head. She didn’t think Brainy would back away from her this time and so she took a leap of faith. She cleared the space between them, falling to her knees so that she could meet Brainy face-to-face.

He stared at her, dark eyes crystalized with tears. A few more slipped down his face, though Brainy seemed completely unaware of them.

“You’re not stuck,” Nia said. She lifted her hand, cupping his cheek gently with her palm. Brainy closed his eyes, leaning his face into that gesture. He wasn’t feverish here, but Nia still felt something spark through her hand when they touched. She didn’t let go. God, she never wanted to let go again.

“Brainy,” Nia said softly. She ran her other hand along his face, wiping away his tears with the brush of her thumb. “Listen to me. You’ve been working for hours. Did you finish the sequence to stop the virus before it got out?”

Brainy made a small sound at the back of his throat. “I don’t…” he trailed off, frowning. “It’s… hard to remember. Anything.” He opened his eyes, locking his gaze with hers. “The little boxes failed.”

“They didn’t fail,” Nia said. “They broke.” She chuckled softly. “I told you this would happen. You lock everything away in boxes, one day those boxes will overfill and empty everything out.” She sighed, running her hand across his cheek. “I didn’t want you to have to experience it, Brainy. I hoped you might have listened to me before then.”

Brainy continued to stare at her. “It is not your fault,” he said simply. Then, gently, he lifted his own hand. He was careful about the movement, pragmatic even, but after a few seconds to consider, he placed his hand on Nia’s face in a mirror gesture. Sparks settled across her skin, shooting down into her stomach. Nia couldn’t help but smile.

Brainy frowned. “I think I completed the sequence,” he said quietly, “but I cannot deploy it.”

Nia blinked. “Wait, you did?” She paused. “Brainy, of course you can deploy it. If you do that, you can stop all of this right now.”

“I…” Brainy trailed off again, lost inside his own thoughts. He winced, drawing his free hand towards his head. For the briefest moment, Nia was sure she saw his interface spark with life. “I can keep what has been damaged away with this cage,” he said slowly. “Leaving would mean facing what has been released, and I do not just mean the virus.” He looked at her seriously. “I have made a fatal error. I do not know how to fix it.”

“Brainy…” Nia murmured. “I get it. You’re afraid of what could happen.”

“What _will_ happen,” Brainy corrected. “I constructed perfect mental projections to hold every emotion I did not want to face. Now, those emotions aren’t just loose, they are untethered. Nia, they might as well be wild. Emotions for my kind are…” He paused, searching for the right words. “They are not understood to be chaotic. It is not an experience we are supposed to have. But now, without structure, these emotions are no longer connected to my memories or my experiences.” He swallowed. “In this nature, they can present as a physical manifestation as much as the virus.”

Nia frowned. “But they’re still _your_ emotions, right?”

Brainy stared at her. “I- I suppose.”

“Then you’re still in control.” Nia slipped her fingers away from Brainy’s face. Instead, she took his hands, holding both in her grasp. She squeezed gently. “Brainy, it’s okay to feel afraid, or even powerless.” She smiled sadly. “Hey, right now, I don’t even have my powers. And, guess what? I still got here in one piece.” She glanced behind herself. “Okay, so J’onn helped get me here and fight the tentacle monster and, well, kept me from going crazy and talking to myself for hours… but the point is, I was scared the _whole time._ And I’m still here.”

Brainy swallowed. “Nia-”

“Sh.” Nia grinned, eyes bright. “I’m not done yet. What I’m trying to say is, emotions don’t make you weak, and they can only stop you if you let them. But they can be motivators as well. You can’t just run your whole life like it’s a machine, only letting in the emotions that feel good. If we don’t feel bad sometimes, then the good stuff doesn’t feel nearly as amazing anyway.” She tugged at his hands, drawing herself from the ground. “Come on,” she said. “We’ll beat this thing together. All three of us.” She winked. “Sound good?”

Brainy drew in a breath, shakily following her to stand. He was a little unsteady, like he wasn’t used to moving around inside his mind palace. He looked up at her, clearly terrified, but also certain of something.

Brainy smiled. The first she’d seen since entering his mind. It didn’t take from the pain behind his eyes, but it still filled Nia with a warmth of hope. “Very well, let’s do this,” he said. “Together.”

 

* * *

 

“No!”

Kara drew her arm in front of herself protectively, blowing a gust of ice cold air at the tentacle trying to grab Alex. The ice held the creature in stasis for maybe four seconds before it shattered and the appendage wiggled free. It was enough time for Alex to dodge the creature, even if she was only evading the inevitable for a few minutes longer.

Kara cried out as the tentacle aimed at her wrapped itself around her arm. It burned through her skin without leaving a mark on her suit, shooting an agonising heat straight into her blood. She could feel it inside of her, searching for anything it could overpower. When it found nothing, Kara began to feel the same draining sensation as before. Her legs felt weaker, but she still grabbed for the tentacle with her other arm, ripping into it with all the force she could garner.

Alex shot at the tentacle, but its squeal only tightened its hold around Kara’s arm. Kara’s eyes widened as the world began to lose focus. She stumbled, trying once again to pull herself free.

“Kara!” Alex ran forward, but Kara shook her head, wincing for her efforts.

“Don’t,” she said through her teeth. “It wants me. It can get more power from me. If you touch it, it’ll drain you in seconds.”

Alex aimed her gun at the creature’s main mass, studying it quizzically. “It has to have a weak spot,” she said. “It’s just _legs._ ”

Kara’s eyes were beginning to flutter. She gritted her teeth, pulling as hard as she could. The prickle against her skin loosened slightly. “It can make a noise,” Kara said breathlessly. “It has to have a face or-or a mouth.”

Alex’s lips quirked. She moved towards the creature carefully, glancing up at Kara whenever she took a step closer. Kara was able to maintain a sparring balance with the creature, enough to keep it from draining her completely. The creature was obsessed with the power in her blood. It might not have been as good as a security system or Brainy’s cybernetic half, but it was more than enough to keep it occupied as Alex studied it from every angle.

Just as Kara had hoped, Alex’s expression lit up. She aimed her gun at the underside of the creature, an angle that Kara couldn’t see from her spot.

Alex shot it. Point blank in what Kara quickly realised was its ‘face’.

The sound it made was awful. Like something centuries old screaming out using strangled, mechanical vocal chords. Kara was surprised it didn’t break a window. The tentacle on her arm withdrew, and she stumbled backwards, catching herself just before she fell.

The creature’s tentacles curled inward; flailing like a spider caught on its back. She motioned for Alex to back away. “It’s angry,” she warned.

“Yeah?” Alex said, pointing her gun. “So am I.”

 

* * *

 

“Brainy,” J’onn said, smiling sincerely. “It’s good to see you up.”

“Perhaps in one sense of the word,” Brainy said, although he managed a smile for J’onn as well. “My physical body still remains comatose.”

“We can worry about that later,” Nia said. Brainy was gaining confidence the more he walked, but there was still something unsteady about him. Maybe not to look at physically, but Nia could see it, wavering behind his eyes. “We need to get through the bars somehow.”

Brainy gestured to the cell. “You mean something like a door?”

Nia blinked. The change had been so fluid, it made her feel a little dizzy. Where the prison bars had been not a second ago, an iron gate stood suddenly in its place. They were still behind it, but that was definitely a step in the right direction.

J’onn looked at Brainy. “Can you open it?”

Brainy linked his hands together, bowing his head. He muttered something under his breath, glancing upwards. There was a sound like breaking chains, and then the gate began to swing open.

The tentacle monster – the _virus –_ didn’t move on the other side. Its limbs twitched, and its beak rattled with pungent breath, but it remained exactly where it was. Waiting.

That was probably more terrifying than it immediately jumping at them like some sort of facehugger. Nia shuddered at the thought, they were definitely never watching _Alien_ again.

Brainy inhaled sharply, eyes widening as he regarded the virus. Nia squeezed his arm. “What will you need to do?” she asked softly.

Brainy blinked, focusing back into the moment. “All I need to do is touch it,” he said. “That is why it will not come closer. It knows. The nullifying sequence is uploaded inside this manifestation of myself. When I touch it, it will overload. And it will die.”

Nia swallowed at his choice of wording. “And are you okay with that?”

“It is not living in the sense of most sentient life,” Brainy said tightly. “It exists to hurt things. Biological and mechanical life alike.”

 “That’s not really an answer.”

“A hero’s role is never easy, Nia Nal,” Brainy said, looking back at her. A part of his old self was coming back to him, the wiser side she caught glimpses of during training. Without knowing so much of his past, sometimes it was easy to forget what his life must have been like in the 31st century. He’d been part of a team of heroes, and she was certain that the things they’d done hadn’t always been as simple as putting someone in a prison cell.

“You’re right,” Nia said. “It’s not easy. But you’re not alone.”

“No,” Brainy agreed. Nia took his hand, squeezing it tightly. J’onn stood on his other side, gripping Brainy’s shoulder. “I’m not.”

 

* * *

 

The gate that separated Brainy from a mass of virulent emotion opened fully, and for just a moment he thought that this might be easy.

Things never were, of course, but he had learnt from experience that it helped greatly to be an optimist.

The virus didn’t move, which was what gave him his first suspicion that something might be wrong. The creature in its physical form was not pleasant to look at, but neither had it been harbouring it for so long. Brainy was grateful that inside his mind, he didn’t need to be tethered to the physical symptoms that were plaguing him in the waking world. It didn’t, however, keep him from feeling mentally exhausted.

He had been inside his own head, locked inside this prison, for an uncountable amount of time. Working for so long on the virus had not been easy. When it had broken from its restraints, Brainy nearly hadn’t managed to free himself in time. The longer he allowed it to walk his mind, the weaker he felt. It wasn’t just taxing focusing on his inner mechanics, but he could feel the virus as it probed every inch of his subconscious mind. Without his mechanical enhancements up and running, it would begin to drain his energy instead.

It had already started.

Brainy faltered slightly, enough for J’onn to have to grab him to keep him from tripping over. Nia’s hand squeezed against his palm, a tether that he was most grateful for.

“Brainy?” J’onn asked worriedly.

“I’m fine,” Brainy said, which was certainly one of the bigger lies he’d told today. “We must destroy the virus as quickly as possible. The longer it remains, the harder this will be.”

“It’s not moving,” Nia noted.

Brainy nodded. “I don't believe that it is worried, which is… concerning.”

He gathered himself, moving forward with his family at his side. It felt surreal, which was of course an obvious statement considering the fact that everything within his mind palace existed within a surreal state. Even still, it didn’t take away from the sensation. The virus simply was not moving.

Brainy reached out for the creature, just as they passed the gates he had built. The tentacles twitched nervously, but they didn’t react to him. Didn’t back away.

Brainy paused. Why would it do this? It had been nothing but a monstrous creation, hell-bent on destruction this entire time. Why now would it relent, would it give in to its own demise?

Which was when Brainy realised something else. 

The sound of trickling water caught Brainy’s attention immediately. He glanced upwards, his stomach sinking as he realised the truth. The virus wasn’t giving in, it was biding its time. Just as it always had been.

His beautifully constructed mind palace, interlaid with an artful network of his cybernetic side, was being drenched with a black, oily substance. It poured from the white walls like some kind of monstrous waterfall, staining his structures, spilling across the floor where empty sheets of paper from his bottled subconscious still remained.

“Stand back,” Brainy instructed. He could hear it, like whispers in his head. This wasn’t just any substance; it was exactly as he had feared.

“What _is_ it?” Nia asked.

Brainy squeezed Nia’s hand. Her being there was a tether he hadn’t realised just how desperately he needed.

“They are…” Brainy swallowed thickly. He felt sick just seeing them like this, but he had to keep going, his family deserved to know the truth. “They are as I said before. My emotions would present themselves in a physical manner.”

“Black goo?” Nia asked, her voice thick with dark humour. “Why does it have to be black goo?”

Brainy would have smiled had he not felt so terrified. This had not been quite the form he had expected, but the manifestation of a viscous fluid was an even more horrific thought. Had his emotions revealed themselves as a monster such as the virus, he might have stood a chance to escape them. Fighting a fluid was close to impossible. You couldn’t stop a monster in a liquid form in the same way you couldn’t stop a tsunami. Both only existed to consume.

“Do not touch it,” Brainy instructed as the liquid began to pool closer to their feet. “Unless you would like to feel the wrath of every emotion that has been locked inside my mind.”

“How are we supposed to get to the virus?” J’onn asked.

Brainy scanned the terrain listlessly. Could he summon a physical force to combat the water? A bridge of some kind? He closed his eyes, trying desperately to feel within his subconscious, to construct what he required.

He was attacked immediately by the swell of stomach-churning failure. He opened his eyes, breath hastening as he realised the liquid had already leaked towards them. It had pooled around his ankle, dragging him in for the ride.

He could not focus on anything. The emotions were simply too unbearable. He couldn’t breathe, let alone build a way out of this. He just wanted to hide away again, but he knew that he could not do that. Nia had told him that fear didn’t need to control his every action, and he knew that to be true. He’d just… never experienced fear this intense before.

It was a human experience, one brought on by having a biological mind. Brainy had no enhancements to fall back on right now; he might as well have had the emotional capacity of a human. It would be fitting, after all. But, seeing that as a downside was what would keep him from doing anything about it.

And so, he considered his family: Alex was one of the strongest people he knew, and she was human. Nia Nal was half human, and a force to be reckoned with when putting into account both her abilities and her willpower. She had come to save him, and she had no mechanical side to keep her fears away. Even J’onn with a powerful psychic ability could not control his emotions. Indeed, he felt them more strongly than anyone that Brainy had ever met.

That was it, then, he decided. He would do what he had to do. Brainy disregarded his own warning and stepped right into the black fluid.

The effect was immediate. Brainy could feel the stir of emotions churning through his mind. They were too much to compute, they simply burned inside his head, threatening to flay him. He groaned out, ducking his head. This had been a poorly constructed plan, but all he had to do was move a little closer. The virus had done this to keep him away, but the fluid was locking it down with its mass just as it locked Brainy with its emotion. The virus could not escape him. He only had to grab for it.

But he couldn’t make it. Surely, it was impossible. Just one step was enough to leave him speechless, thoughtless. He felt tears leak from his eyes, simply because he was that overwhelmed. He had to react in some way to dispel them, but no reaction would be strong enough.

Then he heard Nia’s voice.

“ _Brainy,_ ” she said. “I have an idea.”

Brainy nodded, biting his lip to keep it from trembling.

Nia’s hand climbed further up his arm, securing herself to his bicep. She gave him a meaningful look, and then she stepped into the liquid as well.

She gasped in shock, her chest heaving from the force of it. Her dark eyes widened, and she choked on a sob. But she didn’t let go of Brainy. Instead, she used her new footing to take a step ahead of him.

Brainy could only stare in disbelief. Nia still held onto him, and J’onn, on his other side, stepped into the liquid just as willingly as she did. He groaned out in pain, closing his eyes to combat the virulent emotions that climbed to the surface. But just as Nia, he secured himself a pace ahead of Brainy.

“We’re here,” Nia said, and she tugged Brainy’s arm. “It’s just a little further.”

Brainy had no words to adequately describe his gratitude. The swell of that happiness combated a small amount of the pain manifesting inside of him. He took another step, swallowing back nausea as the pain mounted to a new level, overloading and attacking every sense he had, and others that he had never quite considered.

But he focused on his family. On the reassuring grip of Nia Nal. Despite the pain in her eyes, she forced a smile. She took another step, just as J’onn did, and then, Brainy did too.

It was difficult to maintain their balance. The liquid had a current of its own, swirling around their feet individually, trying to goad them into falling. Brainy didn’t want to think what drowning in one’s emotions felt like and resisted the urge from his body to follow suit. The virus was nearly within reaching distance. It made a mechanical squeal of terror. Its tentacles were locked in place. It had nowhere to go. Its beak spat heinously, but there would be no bite to it. Not anymore.

Brainy disregarded the liquid’s attempt to bring any images to his mind along with the emotions. There were none in this moment. He could only be consumed with the horrible pain of feeling too much than to attribute them to anything. In a way, that made it easier. But it wouldn’t have worked at all without his grounding force.

They were all there now. All three of them. Nia remained a secure hold on his arm, and Brainy closed his eyes. He focused on the feel of Nia, on the sound of her voice and her determination to win, no matter what. He thought he could hear her in his mind, without her needing to speak. She had sat with him in the physical world for all this time. She had been there for him, just as Alex and Kara and J’onn had all been as well. Those emotions were strong, perhaps not as strong as the force he had created, but enough to give him room to focus.

The code was prepared. He could remember now - he had ciphered enough of the virus’ language to be certain of that. The disruption sequence had not been strong enough against the virus' central form, and, after time to think, Brainy had realised the reason why. The virus’ language was not known to him, but every letter in it overlapped, just as the manifestation’s tentacles did when it walked in its physical body. It spoke and moved in a language that existed in constant flux. Brainy had never encountered such a language, one that actually changed both in written and spoken form. It actualised itself in more than one plain of existence and so, Brainy had created his own sequence formatted to follow and infect those plains as well. To latch on and destroy. Ones that would ensure a quick end to this intricate, beautiful and incredibly deadly creature.

Would he mourn for it, he wondered, as he reached out for its closest tentacle?

His fingers wrapped around its slimy surface, biting into flesh that felt cold and dead in his grip already.

No, he thought, as he let the sequence free into its system.

He would not.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~*~ MINOR SPOILERS FOR SEASON FINALE IN THE NOTES~*~
> 
> I thought it'd be rather fitting to end this fic as the season comes to an end as well. I could probably talk for an hour about that ending, because that was a rollercoaster and a half. Brainy's journey these last two episodes was absolutely incredible to watch and the fact he finally told Nia he loved her coupled with the hand holding and chair sharing at the end?? So. Adorable. I'll admit, I have a few more ideas for little oneshots I might sprinkle around during the hiatus. So stay tuned if you want some more Brainia. 
> 
> Thank you guys so much for reading this story, supporting it, leaving your comments and kudos. It's lovely to know that you've enjoyed this, and I very much hope you enjoy how it ties up. :)
> 
> Until my next project!

Kara had her arms bound when the tentacles that swarmed her suddenly fell still. She gasped for breath, collapsing against the sofa as the creature made a shrill and violent sound. Its many legs jerked, curling into jagged spikes around its main body as it sagged in on itself.

Kara stared as the creature began to melt. The very building blocks of its physical state simply seemed to deteriorate, like black ash in the wind.

In seconds, the virus was gone, leaving a very broken apartment in its wake.

Alex struggled to her feet. The virus hadn’t been as interested in her power, but it had been more than happy to strike her halfway across the room when she’d tried to shoot the tentacles from Kara’s wrists. She had a small cut across her temple that was leaking blood, but otherwise she seemed okay.

Kara was grateful, she really wasn’t certain how long she could have kept that up.

She started suddenly, turning towards the bedroom. Alex had the same idea; the second she was standing she was already heading towards Nia’s room.

Just as they entered, J’onn lifted his head. His eyes glowed dully for a moment before returning to their usual dark colour. He withdrew his hands from Nia’s, looking at her worriedly.

Kara could see why. With nowhere to go, Nia’s dream energy had unravelled from J’onn’s hands. It had expanded like a blue mist, sinking over the entirety of Brainy’s unconscious form. As the blue mist swirled, it seemed to mingle with his interface, teasing the mechanical structure. Kara watched in disbelief as the lights flickered across his forehead, turning to a steady baby blue.

But still, they didn’t wake.

“J’onn,” Kara said, taking his shoulder. “What’s going on? Why are Nia and Brainy still… like that?”

“The virus outside just died, I think,” Alex said, pointing to the main room. When J’onn’s expression tightened, Alex winced. “Which you knew nothing about. Because it happened while you were in there… oh boy, that’s a story for later.”

“I think I may know what you were up against,” J’onn said, “at least in part. The virus manifested inside of Brainy’s mind palace as well. But we defeated it.”

Alex gestured at Brainy and Nia. “Then why are they unconscious?”

J’onn grimaced, running a hand along his jaw. “I am afraid that the virus did much inside of Brainy’s mind that might make it difficult for him to wake up. Nia wanted to stay behind to speak with him. I thought it would be for the best if I allowed her to do that alone.”

Alex side-eyed Kara meaningfully. Kara frowned. “Is he okay?”

“That will be for Brainy to decide,” J’onn said. “He’s strong, I am sure he will wake soon.”

“Should we give him space?” Alex asked unsurely.

Kara took a step closer. She could see Brainy clearly now, better than she had when she’d been fighting for her life. He looked so still laid out on the bed. His blue skin was bruised beneath his eyes leaving a purplish hue across his cheekbones. It proved in part that this coma really wasn’t like real sleep at all. His white hair was slick with sweat, and Kara felt compelled to brush away a stray lock, just for something to do.

“He’ll be okay,” she said softly. She wasn’t sure who she was trying to reassure.

“Come on,” Alex said, “we can wait out in the living room. Uh, maybe we could clean up a bit?”

“Clean up?” J’onn asked curiously.

“Oh,” Kara said, running a hand through her hair. “Yeah, J’onn, I’d uh, take a breath or something. The apartment took a pretty bad beating.”

“Good thing we have superpowered aliens to help clean it up,” Alex said with a grin.

“I had no part in this apartment’s destruction,” J’onn said, raising his hands. He remained serious for all of two seconds before he smiled. “Of course I can help.”

“Great.” Kara folded her arms, heading towards the doorway. She paused when her vision tunnelled, blinking hard to steady herself. She glanced upwards, right into the worried gaze of her sister.

Alex sighed. “Okay, J’onn and I will do the cleaning. Kara, no super speed for you. That virus took a lot out of you, maybe you should lie down on the couch?”

“I’m fine,” Kara tried, but now she realised that J’onn _and_ Alex were giving her the disapproving parent look. She shrank in on herself. “Okay, but wake me up in like five minutes. Or when Brainy’s awake. Or both. Whichever comes first.”

Alex rolled her eyes. “Sure.”

 

* * *

 

When the virus disintegrated into nothingness, Nia had hoped that the black goo might have followed suit.

Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.

Nia and J’onn had both pulled Brainy from the liquid. It didn’t have the same effect on them as it did Brainy. Although it had been painful, trying to jerk old memories to the fronts of their minds, it had been manageable. Nia had still been able to focus inside the liquid, to bat away those negative emotions so that they couldn’t consume her.

For Brainy, she didn’t think that was possible.

But he’d still done it. He’d still managed to destroy the virus, even with the weight of every upturned box turned to goo at his feet.

J’onn had left to allow Brainy’s mind to recover, and Nia could have gone with him, but she knew that wasn’t the right thing to do. Brainy wasn’t really talking, he had his arms folded across his chest, and he was staring at the black liquid that still stained the floors of his once immaculate mind palace. The place was in ruins.

So, Nia sat with him. And for a while, that was all they did. They just sat in the untouched space in his now open cage, shoulder-to-shoulder. That contact felt good, and Nia was sure Brainy felt it too. He definitely made no move to shuffle away. In fact, she thought with a hopeful jolt that he was leaning into it.

Nia played thoughtlessly with the piece of paper she’d kept in her pocket. It was stained with dark smudges that hadn’t been there before, but was otherwise just as blank as it had been when she'd picked it up from the floor. She tossed the paper aside, pressing herself a little firmer against Brainy. She sighed. “So, what do we do now?”

Brainy stared ahead of himself blankly. “I-I do not know. My palace is overrun with emotions. I could compartmentalise the whole area, block it from my waking consciousness, but that would have the same end result, would it not?” He sighed through his teeth. “One inescapably large box.”

Nia bit her lip. “These emotions are yours, Brainy. They’re only in control so long as you’re afraid of them.” She nudged him playfully. “J’onn told me that.”

“And J’onn is very wise,” Brainy said simply. He turned towards her. “And so are you, Nia Nal.” His gaze softened. “Thank you. I did not say it before, but thank you for being here. For coming with J’onn. If you had not… I would never have defeated the virus.”

Nia’s heart blossomed with heat. She grinned. “Of course I came. Do you really think I’d just leave you to fight the monster alone? That wouldn’t have been very heroic of me.”

“Yes, you are a true hero,” Brainy agreed. “I am afraid I don’t think I lived up to that very much today.”

“Are you kidding?” Nia asked in disbelief. “Brainy, you just fought a virus and your own _mind_ to save the city. Okay, so I helped. A lot,” she grinned when he smiled, “but in my opinion, you were a pretty great hero today.”

“Thank you,” Brainy said, then frowned. “Uh, again.”

“No problem.” She tugged at his arm, pulling herself up. “Now, come on. Like I said, these are your emotions. So, you can clean them up.”

Brainy followed her up unsurely. “Clean them up?”

“Yeah.” Nia gestured to the black liquid. It didn’t ripple anymore, didn’t show any sign of life at all. “This is your mind palace. I know that you’ve dealt with a lot this last year, and I also know you’ve had it rough in your past.” She paused, turning to him. “Brainy, I don’t want you to think that you need to tell me everything if you don’t want to, but I think the best way to figure out your emotions is to be able to talk about them with someone. I know I’ve talked to you about family stuff, and I know it would be harder for you to open up the same with me, but if you needed to-”

Brainy took her arm. “You’re right,” he said. “I should… speak to you more. About things.”

“Like I said, you don’t have to tell me everything,” Nia said, trying to ignore the sparks trailing up towards her shoulder. “But it’ll definitely help clear away some of this goo.”

“I am not sure I could get rid of it all,” Brainy said with a frown.

Nia grinned. “You think everyone has a super clean mind palace? I should show you mine someday, there’s mess all over the place.” She laughed, placing a hand over his. “Brainy, I can help you figure some of this mess out. And if you ever think you need to talk to someone more professional, well, I think Alex and I can help you out there too. But for right now, I think it’s time you woke up.” She cocked her head to the side. “Uh, so that you can go back to bed. Properly.”

Brainy’s lips quirked into a small smile. He closed his eyes, and for the first time, Nia could see the true exhaustion that lined his features – on par with the flesh and blood version of himself lying in her bed. “I think I would like that very much,” he said. “I’m very tired.”

“Yeah,” Nia agreed. “Me too.”

 

* * *

 

Leaving the dreamscape was weird.

Nia hadn’t done it many times before, and she still wasn’t used to the strangeness of reconnecting with her body. She was almost immediately weighted down by the exhaustion of using her powers for so long without reprieve.

She ignored it though, because the second she was back with the waking world, she remembered Brainy laid out on the bed at her side. His breathing caught in his chest, and his eyes fluttered before opening. He narrowed them, blinking experimentally.

Nia nearly forgot to breathe. “Hey,” she said, taking Brainy’s shoulder. She’d almost forgotten how warm he’d been. His fever was nothing close to the burn she’d felt before, but he still wasn’t completely healed. “Take it slow,” she said, helping him into a sitting position.

Brainy nodded, clearly dazed. With Nia’s help, he pulled himself upright, leaning heavily against the headboard.

“How are you feeling?” Nia asked.

Brainy blinked, rubbing at his head. “The virus’s symptoms will take some time to pass through my system.” He sighed, pushing his face into his hands. “I am tired, mostly.”

“Okay,” Nia said. “Then stay here. For as long as you need.”

“Thank you,” Brainy said, leaning his head back. He stared upwards at the ceiling. Nia could see the candlelight reflected back in his dark eyes, could see something glittering there that hadn’t before. Her stomach clenched, but it wasn’t uncomfortable.

“Nia Nal,” Brainy said suddenly, glancing back towards her. “You told me that I should be more forthcoming with you, about my emotions.” He frowned, and his hand moved towards his Legion ring. “There was something I wished to tell you, before I shut myself down. I-I never got the chance.”

Nia took that moment to lean forward. Maybe it was the exhaustion talking, or the last few hours of emotional turmoil, maybe she was just so tired of _waiting,_ skirting around the surface of some impossible thing that had never been impossible at all.

She took Brainy’s face in her hands, and she kissed him.

Brainy tensed for half a second before he leant into the kiss. His lips were warm, still buzzing with fever. Nia ran one hand up through Brainy’s pale hair, knotting her fingers through his damp locks as she strengthened the kiss, leaning further forward. Brainy leant back to compensate, knocking into the headboard. Sparks settled inside Nia’s chest, travelling down to her stomach, circulating in her blood. She’d thought that feeling might pass now that she was back in the world of the waking, but if anything, it had only gotten stronger.

When Nia finally pulled away, her face was flush, her breath heavy in her chest. She opened her eyes to find Brainy staring at her, an awed, relaxed and completely open look on his face. For a beat, Nia had been afraid that maybe she’d been too rash, maybe she hadn’t put Brainy’s feelings into consideration.

But in his eyes, she saw the exact same yearning that she was sure was reflected in her own.

Then, reality folded back in on them both when someone coughed awkwardly behind them.

Nia turned, realising that she was practically knelt in Brainy’s lap, pinning him to the headboard. And Kara and Alex were staring at them from the doorway.

“Oh,” Nia said quietly. “Oh my god.”

Alex was clearly trying to remain stone-faced and failing dramatically. Kara was beaming from ear to ear.

“Okay, so that just happened,” Alex said numbly.

Kara practically cackled. “Finally!” she said. Then she covered her mouth, eyes widening. “Did I say that out loud?”

“Yes,” Alex said, nodding sagely. “You did. And everyone heard.”

Nia honestly didn’t think she could get any redder. Brainy was simply staring at them both in confusion.

Oh god. Of course he was confused. The last time he’d been conscious, Nia had been the only one in the apartment.

But she should have known better than to think Kara and Alex wouldn’t eavesdrop.

“Have you guys ever heard of privacy?” Nia asked, lifting her chin.

“Nope,” Kara said, she was still grinning.

“We were literally waiting for Brainy to come out of a coma,” Alex deadpanned. Then she smiled. Her gaze moved to Brainy. “I suppose you’re feeling better, then?”

Brainy shuffled a little on the bed, and Nia awkwardly climbed over him so that she could sit on his other side. “The symptoms will take some time to pass fully,” he said, trying in any regard to maintain his usual tone. “I should make a full recovery.” His lip twitched. “Thanks to all of you.”

“I wouldn’t thank us yet,” Alex said. “The kitchen is still a mess.”

Nia frowned. “Wait, what happened to the kitchen?”

Kara rolled her eyes. “What _didn’t_ happen? There were tentacles, mini black holes, exploding light bulbs.” She pointed a finger. “The toaster was broken before we got here, though.”

“That was Brainy,” Alex said offhandedly.

Brainy straightened, frowning. “It… was?”

“Wait, you don’t remember?”

Nia raised her hands, effectively cutting everyone off. “As great as this whole conversation is, I think Brainy really needs to rest.” She sagged a little. “Honestly, I think we all do.”

Kara laughed dismally. “You’re not wrong.”

“Yeah,” Alex said, wiping a hand over her eyes. “I still have to run debrief at the DEO, and make sure all traces of the virus are gone.”

“They are,” Brainy said immediately.

Alex’s smile was sincere. “I know, but… not many agents were aware of what was going on with you. We’ll have to run a full-scale investigation or there’ll be hell to pay from Haley.”

“Understood,” Brainy said. “If you need my assistance-”

“No way,” Alex said, and Nia realised she was using her Director Danvers voice. “You’re on bed rest until further notice.” Her expression softened. “Focus on feeling better, Brainy.” She looked at Nia. “Both of you need to rest.” Then, she glanced towards her sister. “I don’t want to see Supergirl flying around, either. As far as I’m concerned, you’re all grounded tonight.”

Nia grinned. “No complaints from me.”

Kara stifled a yawn. “Yeah, you’ve got a point.”

Suddenly, Nia realised something. “Hey, guys, where’s J’onn?” She hadn’t thanked him for all the help he’d provided in the dreamscape. Not in real life, at least.

“Oh,” Kara said, pointing behind herself offhandedly. “He walked in on you guys locking lips and phased out the front door.”

Never mind, Nia realised, she could most certainly turn redder.

 

* * *

 

Once Alex had coaxed J’onn back into the apartment, everyone had a chance for a proper goodbye. A group hug was forced upon Brainy, although Nia thought he secretly liked the attention. After that, Alex headed back to the DEO, J’onn to his own affairs, and Kara flew home, crossing her heart to Alex that all she’d be doing was falling face down in her bed and not waking up until the next morning.

When he felt up to it, Nia let Brainy shower in the bathroom. It was probably the freshest he’d felt since this whole thing had started. Meanwhile, Nia wandered the living room, not quite believing that a few hours ago, Kara and Alex had battled it out against the virus’s evil clones not ten feet from where they’d been comatose.

All the bulbs had been replaced, and J’onn had painstakingly gone about and cleaned up all traces of broken glass. Aside from the scorch mark on the ceiling that Kara couldn’t wash out - and the broken toaster - everything looked pretty normal. Nia guessed that was the perks of having superpowered friends to help with clean-up duty.

Before the shower shut off, Nia changed into a new set of pyjamas, letting her hair fall loose around her shoulders. She sat on the bed with a book. She’d considered turning the lights back on, but there was a certain atmosphere to the candlelight that she didn’t want to give up just yet.

Brainy came out of the bathroom in the pyjamas that Nia had bought for him after the first time he’d stayed the night. At the time, she’d thought nothing of it, but seeing him now, white hair fresh and damp against his neck, tugging nervously at the sleeve of his oversized shirt because Nia had been mindful that he valued comfort above everything…

She blinked.

It was one of those _oh_ moments. What had been staring at her right in the face since the beginning. The little things she’d done without thinking, the quirks she’d picked up on. She’d always taken to heart the moments when Brainy would do those things for her, whether it was getting her favourite coffee without needing to be prompted or noting emotional deviations that he thought he should ask about, even if he wasn’t particularly sure what kind of answer he’d receive.

It was silly. She’d spent so long overthinking everything he did for her, and yet she’d never once thought at length about all the little things she did for him. She’d cleared a whole drawer out in her dresser just to keep a spare set of pyjamas for a boy she liked. As though she’d expected that, over time, it would be filled with other things of his as well. She swallowed thickly.

Brainy wandered over to the bed, sitting next to her. He opened his mouth, then closed it, frowned, then opened it again.

Nia smiled.

“Uh.” Brainy wound his fingers around each other. “Should we _talk_ about earlier?”

“The kiss?” Nia prompted.

“Yes.” Brainy glanced at her curiously. “I said I was going to be more open with you. Would you like me to start there?”

Nia had to bite back the laugher building in her throat. “You’re tired,” she said. “I think we should discuss it when you’re feeling better, okay?”

Brainy fiddled with his ring. Nia was pretty certain he’d kept it on even in the shower. “Okay,” he said quietly. “Of course. Later, then?”

Nia rolled her eyes. “Let’s make a compromise,” she said simply, leaning forward. Brainy’s eyes darted across her face quizzically, and his lips parted in question. He didn’t get to say anything, though, because Nia took that opportunity to kiss him again.

It was a quick, hard kiss that left a lot of things open to explore. Nia drew away, running her finger teasingly beneath Brainy’s chin. She smirked. “Does that answer some of your questions?”

“No,” Brainy said. But his eyes were bright, and Nia could have sworn that there was a healthy blush creeping across his blue skin. “But we can talk about it later.”

 

* * *

 

 

Nia lay by Brainy’s side in bed; it hadn’t taken him long to pass out after everything he’d been through. For the first time since this all started, he truly looked like he was getting some well-deserved rest. His face was relaxed, his eyes skirting behind his lids in the realms of a REM cycle. He was curled on his side, his sleeves tucked over his fingers.

Nia watched him for a while, sure that any moment he might open his eyes and catch her with a goofy smile on her face. But he didn’t wake, which was good; he _really_ needed this.

When he turned in his sleep, Nia tucked her arms around him, curling her body close, pressing her forehead into his back. Brainy relaxed into the gesture, his breathing evening. He was still a little warm, but he was well on his way to a full recovery. Still, Nia appreciated the chance to be here with him, to hold him close to her as he slept. Soon, the lull of sleep took her as well. She wondered briefly whether she might meet Brainy in the dreamscape.

It didn’t matter; they would be together either way.

 

* * *

 

* * *

 

* * *

 

“Okay, it’s official, you two are annoyingly adorable.”

As Nia had suspected, by the time day three rolled around, Brainy was going stir crazy on bed rest. His fever was down completely, and he’d assured Nia that any aches and pains he’d been experiencing had finally dulled down to nothing. He’d even managed to eat something of substance after the first day, and his appetite was getting better with every hour.

But he still barely had any energy. Spending so much time inside his own mind, plus all the energy the virus had managed to consume while it had been roaming free inside his head… it had left Brainy feeling lethargic after just a few hours of waking, even if he wasn’t doing anything. Which was hard. Because Brainy insisted on doing _something._

So, Nia had invited Alex and Kara over for an impromptu movie night, and the Danvers Sisters had been more than happy to oblige.

They weren’t even an hour into _Arrival_ when Brainy started dozing. He’d fixed his image inducer and dark locks of hair splayed across his face as he curled against Nia’s arm. Nia brushed them away with a soft smile, pressing a kiss into his hair. “Oh yeah?” she asked, trying and failing to play innocent.

Alex folded her arms. She and Kara were sharing a blanket on the other sofa. They’d had a bowl of popcorn between them, but that had practically disappeared before Nia had a chance to skip through the commercials. Kara’s fault, Alex had insisted.

“It’s sickening,” Alex said, her lips quirked.

Kara grinned, leaning against her sister impishly. “It is really adorable,” she agreed. “Are you guys official or what?”

Nia shrugged. They’d had some time to talk about it over the last couple of days, but it was still so new, and Brainy still wasn’t totally better. She’d wanted to wait until he was up to it to talk details: whether they were boyfriend and girlfriend. Or, were labels too much at this stage? Was that moving too fast?

Making out on the bed… several times… probably nullified that statement now that she thought about it.

“We’re gonna talk about it when he’s feeling better,” Nia said, but she couldn’t keep from smiling. “I think we’re both gonna like the answer, though.”

“Awww,” Kara cooed, shaking Alex’s arm to try and get her to join in. Alex smiled, rolling her eyes.

Brainy stirred slightly, pressing his face against Nia’s shoulder. She shuffled a little further down the sofa so that she could wind her arm around him. A far more comfortable position for them both.

“You know,” Kara said honestly, “this might be the first time I’ve seen Brainy sleep.” She smiled. “It’s super sweet.”

“He fell asleep at his desk once,” Alex noted. “But we’d been running a mission that required round the clock attention. Brainy was confident he didn’t need as much sleep as the rest of us.” She shrugged, her lips curling. “Turns out that wasn’t entirely true.”

“I remember that,” Nia said, thinking back. “He drank, like, six cups of coffee then passed out on my couch.”

They all chuckled.

“It’s quiet at the DEO without him,” Alex said softly.

Kara pursed her lips. “That virus took a lot out of him. I slept for a whole day after its clone attacked me, and it barely even touched me.”

“Yeah,” Nia said. She pressed her head against Brainy’s, closing her eyes. “He’s getting his energy back; I’d give it a couple of days.”

“Aw, that’s not so bad,” Kara said, biting her lip. “I mean, that’s like having a twenty-four-seven cuddle buddy, right?”

Nia scowled at her. “If I wasn’t super comfortable right now, I’d flick popcorn at you.”

“We’d have to have some left to do that,” Alex muttered.

“For the last time, you _totally_ had half of that bowl!”

Brainy’s eyes fluttered, and he raised his head from Nia’s shoulder, looking at her blearily.

Nia’s stomach somersaulted. She smiled at him. “Hi.”

Brainy blinked, rubbing at his face. “Hi,” he echoed around a yawn. He peered over at the TV screen, still running the film despite the fact no one had been paying attention. “Did I fall asleep?”

Nia grabbed for the remote. “We were gonna rewind it anyway.”

Kara winked at Nia. “Yeah, we got distracted.”

Alex stood up, shifting Kara from her side. Kara pouted at her. “I’m going to make more popcorn,” Alex announced. “ _Someone_ ate all of mine.”

Brainy looked from Kara to Nia, to Alex’s desperate attempts at avoiding the situation completely. “Did I… miss something? Other than the movie?”

“Not at all,” Nia said quickly, pressing her lips against his forehead. “Alex was just saying how boring the DEO is without you around.”

“Oh, so that’s what we’re going to focus on?” Alex called from the kitchen. She grinned. “But, yeah, it really is. Dealing with Haley’s no fun when you can’t make scathing remarks behind her back to anyone.”

Kara spluttered. “Brainy? _Scathing?_ ”

“Oh yeah,” Alex said, “he’s a master.”

“I speak many languages,” Brainy said, turning towards Kara. “ _Sass_ was not hard to learn.”

“Oh please, like you didn’t already know it before,” Nia teased. She pressed her face into his neck, running her lips along his throat, up towards his jaw.

Brainy had a comment on the tip of his tongue, Nia knew, but he’d also learnt by now what that particular social cue meant, and exactly what his mouth needed to be doing.

“Oh, come on guys, still in the room,” Alex groaned.

Kara laughed. “Don’t be bitter.”

“I can and will,” Alex said, but she was smiling as she turned back towards the kitchen. “Who else wants popcorn?”

Nia pulled away from Brainy just enough to raise her head. “We do!”

“Figures all I had to do was mention food,” Alex muttered.

Nia grinned, raising her brow at Brainy. “Maybe Alex is right, public displays of affection can make people uncomfortable.”

“Understandable,” Brainy said, and he lifted his hands, cupping Nia’s face. Blood rushed to her head, she wasn’t used to him being so forward in these situations, especially with company over. She couldn’t say she didn’t like it, though. “However,” Brainy said, lowering his voice. “Does your apartment constitute as a public environment?”

Nia grinned. “Valid point.”

Brainy brought Nia’s face towards him; their lips brushed together, the action sending a warm trill through Nia’s body. She closed her eyes as Brainy strengthened the kiss, running his thumb along her chin. They drew away after a brief period; Nia was vaguely aware that, if they didn’t, Alex might dump her freshly made popcorn over them both.

Nia could feel the heat rushing through her face. She kissed Brainy once on the cheek before rolling to the side so that they could lie next to each other again. It was a bit of a squeeze, but now that Brainy was awake, he shifted so that she could lie her head against his chest, safe and content beneath the blankets.

This quiet time wouldn’t last, Nia knew. There would always be another threat to face, alien or otherwise, but she was preparing herself for the fight now, so that she could be a part of the team that Kara was building.

For right now, though? Brainy still needed to recover, and lying together watching Kara’s compiled list of _good alien_ movies was exactly how Nia wanted to spend that time. She pressed her face against Brainy’s side, feeling a smile creep across her face.

She’d been telling the truth back inside Brainy’s head. Bad moments came and went, but without them, good moments like this would never feel as special.


End file.
